Why do industries form front groups?

Most corporations have millions of dollars invested in their public image and would rather not be associated with the questionable tactics that some front groups employ. Instead, they give money to front groups to let them do the "dirty work" while the corporate brand image remains clean. In addition, the largest players in some industries know that they have acquired bad public images ("dirty energy," "factory farms"), and their credibility has suffered. So they create a front group that claims to represent consumers, taxpayers, or some other group of "little guys" with whom the public can sympathize.

The public has also become skeptical of industries when it comes to science. For example, the Tobacco Institute once notoriously worked to distort the science regarding smoking and health. This tactic effectively delayed changing public policy regarding tobacco for decades. Industry now creates front groups to make their scientific claims more palatable.