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Corporate executives are always whining to Congress,
the courts, the media, and anyone else who’ll listen that they are
besieged with lawsuits, and they constantly demand laws to prevent people
from suing them. But guess what group does more suing than anyone else?
Corporations! For example, consider Scotts Miracle-Gro, a
multibillion-dollar global chemical corporation that is suing a tiny
upstart firm named TerraCycle, a maker of all-natural garden products.
TerraCycle’s bestseller is an eco-friendly plant food made of —
are you ready? — liquefied worm poop. Started in 2003 by a
25-year-old college dropout, the company feeds organic scraps to worms. The
resulting waste is then brewed into a compost tea and put into recycled
soda bottles that are collected from around the country by school groups
and charities. Scotts, however, is not charmed by its fledgling
competitor. This maker of synthetic plant food, which controls some 60
percent of America’s lawn and garden market, is pounding tiny
TerraCycle with a lawsuit. Using a pack of corporate lawyers, Scotts
asserts that TerraCycle is deceiving consumers because its packages include
a green-and-yellow color scheme on its label — the very colors used
by Scotts. Anyone who looks at the two products, however, can
immediately see the difference — and see how frivolous this lawsuit
is. Start with the big words “Worm Poop” on TerraCycle’s
label. There’s a clue! Plus, the packages have totally different
shapes. As for the green and yellow, no corporation can own colors, and
many garden-care companies rather naturally choose green and yellow for
their color schemes.
To learn seven ways you can help TerraCycle fend off
this abusive assault by a bullying corporation, go to www.suedbyscotts.com.
Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator,
columnist, and author.
This article appears in Jul 5-11, 2007.
