Author talks: Ethical Chic author Fran Hawthorne

Beacon Press

Do the coolest brands really deserve their alleged socially responsible reputations? In her new book,Ethical Chic, award winning journalist, author, (friend, fellow shul member,) and Brooklynite Fran Hawthorne investigates six such companies to find out the answer to that and other questions, including:

--Do Starbucks baristas really talk to their customers? (And why did the company cheat the coffee farmers of Ethiopia?)

--Is Trader Joe’s really organic?

--Did Apple know about the conditions at its iPod factory in China?

--Why did Tom’s of Maine sell out to Colgate?

--How does Timberland explain killing all those cows?

--Should we hate American Apparel for its sleaze or applaud it for supporting immigrant rights?

To promote her new book Ms. Hawthorne will be giving two readings this month in Brooklyn:

Wednesday June 20, 2012 at 7:00 PM at Community Bookstore, 143 Seventh Avenue in Park Slope, and

Thursday June 28, 2012 at 6:00 PM at Brooklyn Heights Public Library/Business and Career Library, 280 Cadman Plaza West, at Tillary Street

If you care whether the companies you patronize are socially responsible then you would probably also find Ms. Hawthorne's previous book The Overloaded Liberal: Shopping, Investing, Parenting, and Other Daily Dilemmas in an Age of Political Activism a useful and engaging read.

Ms. Hawthorne has been a writer or editor at Fortune, BusinessWeek, Institutional Investor,and other publications. She is the author of three books on health care and investing, including Inside the FDA and Pension Dumping.

This article first appeared on the now defunct examiner.com