Hawthorne is committed to providing customers with the best value products and services, both in the field and online. We also recognize and respect your online privacy and are committed to providing adequate data protection and full compliance with applicable data privacy laws. The activities of this site are consistent with Caterpillar’s Data Privacy Policy and Website Privacy Statement.

How do we collect personal information?
Some information is automatically received and sometimes collected from you when you visit this site. We receive and collect the name of the domain from which you access the Internet; the browser software you use and your operating system; the date and time you access our site; the geographic location from which you access our site; and the Internet address of the web site from which you linked directly to our site. We use this information to monitor the usage of our site. All of the information we automatically capture provides us with the ability to enhance our customers' search and shopping experiences and to determine aggregate information about our user base and usage patterns.

When you click on links and banners on our site that take you to third-party web sites (including, for example, Caterpillar Dealer sites which are not controlled by Caterpillar), you will be subject to the third parties' privacy policies. While we support the protection of privacy on the Internet, Caterpillar, Inc. cannot be responsible for the actions of any third-party web sites. We encourage you to read the posted privacy statement of any and every site you visit, whether you are linking from our site or browsing on your own.

Do we use electronic mechanisms such as “cookies”?
We use data collection devices such as “cookies” to deliver customized visitor experiences and to analyze website user metrics. “Cookies” are small files placed on your hard drive that assist us in providing our services. While you may configure your browser to reject cookies, due to the technology we use, cookies are required to enable us to recognize you each time you visit us as well as register with and purchase products and services online from this website. Cookies help us in many ways, for example, by saving your region and for purposes of collecting non-personal data. You may encounter cookies or other data collection devices that are placed by third parties. We do not control the use of cookies by third parties.

What personal information do we collect?
In general, you can browse our site without revealing any personal information. However, once you register or otherwise provide personal information, you are no longer anonymous to us. During registration or order entry processes, you may give us general identity information about yourself (e.g.: your name, company name, business address, business telephone number, business email address) and more detailed information for specific purposes (e.g.: special interests in products or industries, your job responsibilities, shipping and payment preferences for online purchases). Additionally, as you browse the site we may collect certain information about how you use the site regardless of any registration.

How do we use this personal information?
We use this information to do internal research on our users’ demographics, interests, and behaviors to better understand and serve our customers. We also capture metrics on the number of visitors to our sites for use in server capacity needs.

Hawthorne is committed to protecting the privacy needs of children (persons under the age of 18) and encourages parents and guardians to take an active role in their children's online activities and interests. Children are not eligible to use this website unsupervised and we ask that children do not submit any personal information to us. If you are under the age of 18, you may only use this website in conjunction with, and under the supervision of, your parents or guardians.

How do we safeguard personal information?
We will strive to ensure that your personal information is adequately protected wherever it may be processed. To prevent unauthorized access or disclosure, to maintain data accuracy, and to ensure the appropriate use of the information, we use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption when collecting or transferring sensitive data such as financial information. SSL encryption is designed to make the information unreadable by anyone but us. This security measure is working when you see either the symbol of an unbroken key or closed lock (depending on your browser) on the bottom of your browser window.

Will we disclose the personal information that we collect?
Hawthorne and its affiliated persons and companies are currently handling the processing of personal information and intend to use and share this information within the enterprise to process customer orders and to improve or market our products and services. The personal information may be transferred to and processed in various countries, including countries like the U.S., which have chosen not to adopt comprehensive federal codes for handling personal data.

We will not sell or rent your information to any third party. The data collected on this site is for the explicit use of Hawthorne and affiliated persons and companies. However, we will disclose personal information when required or permitted by law or for purposes relevant to Corporate Policies.

How may I access my personal information?
You may contact us anytime to review the information which we collected about you and ask us to correct it, if desired.

Your consent
By registering with the Dealer StoreFront and providing your identity information as provided, you consent to this use of personal information. Please let us know as well when registering if you consent to us contacting you about our products and services from time to time.

What happens if this privacy statement changes?
We reserve the right to amend this data privacy statement. If Hawthorne updates or changes this privacy statement, the changes will be made on this page. Your continued use of your Hawthorne Dealer’s StoreFront and its applications following the posting of changes to this data privacy statement will mean you accept those changes and terms of this privacy statement.