Marysville, Ohio — The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. donated $200,000 in June to the Restore Our Future super PAC, which supports Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. The news raised eyebrows, as Scotts is a public company with well-known public brands that could conceivably suffer if consumers disagreed with those donations, much in the same way as Chick-Fil-A has become a target in recent weeks. A company spokesman said it was Miracle-Gro Chairman and CEO Jim Hagedorn’s policy to donate in the light of day. Likewise, he said the company would benefit from Romney’s policies on corporate tax reform, business regulation, and federal spending, as well as its assessment that Romney could revive the economy. Hagedorn, however, does not have a record of being a strict partisan, as he publically supported former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland in his failed attempt at re-election in 2010. Hagedorn has raised controversy before, telling The Wall Street Journal that he wanted the Scotts to target the marijuana market (GM June 20, 2011, p. 12). The company later downplayed the remarks.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain