Ben & Jerry's isn't owned by Ben & Jerry ap Burt's Bees is marketed as a local brand from Durham, N.C., and proudly described as "Earth Friendly Natural Personal Care for The Greater Good." Of course the brand downplays that it was sold for nearly a billion dollars a few years ago to mega-corporation Clorox.

Brands like Burt's Bees and Ben & Jerry's attract a growing market of environmentally-conscious consumers. They rely on being marketed as local and natural, but many consumers have no clue that these brands now have mammoth multinational overlords.

Lots of the companies started as mom-and-pop's, and though selling to a corporation may have been a hard decision, these small business owners all sought ways to preserve their ideals as part of a large company. When customers accused Burt's Bees of selling out, CEO John Replogle says he personally responded to anyone who provided contact information.