How has the company made soap a catalyst for change? By operating according to what it has coined “constructive capitalism”: the idea that the purpose of business must extend beyond personal financial gain to benefit humanity and the planet.
Leading the Regenerative Way
A revered core product helps, too: “Then there’s the versatility and value of the soap,” David says. “People getting more concerned about toxins and the products they consume has brought [attention] to Dr. Bronner’s.” The soap has changed very little in almost eight decades, and that includes the packaging. The iconic label on the brand’s castile soap bottles originated with Emanuel — printed in an eye-watering 5.5 font, it relays his All-One message. It was designed, as Lisa Bronner writes on her “Going Green” blog, to “call out humanity’s commonalities, to highlight the way in which people are similar in their aims and ethics, to call each individual to action wherever they find themselves. He emphasized we are all fellow travelers on God’s Spaceship Earth.” It’s the same message driving David and Dr. Bronner’s today, though now it’s applied on a much grander scale.
Emanuel started Dr. Bronner’s selling his liquid peppermint castile soap; the brand has since expanded its line to include lip balm, lotion, toothpaste, and more. In 2021, it even launched a collection of fair trade chocolate bars. The brand became USDA-certified organic in 2003 and has deepened its commitment to sustainability. The company partners with global suppliers and farmers in Brazil, India, Samoa, Sri Lanka, and other countries, working not only to improve the quality of the ingredients being produced but also the way they’re grown. Dr. Bronner’s educates its suppliers on regenerative practices and techniques, including crop rotation, cover cropping, composting, and dynamic agroforestry, a method that combines crops to mimic a natural ecosystem. “Each of our major ingredients has a cool story around it,” David says. “Our palm oil comes from farmers in Ghana.
Using Soap to Spearhead Change
They’re cropping palm, cocoa, banana and engaging in multi-strata forestry. We have our crops, and there are local crops mixed in as well.” By partnering with local farmers and helping them engage in regenerative practices, David says, “the yields are around 40% more than if you planted monoculture blocks.” Dr. Bronner’s is also spearheading the Regenerative Organic Certified movement. The company has partnered with the Rodale Institute, Patagonia, and other brands and organizations to develop the certification standard for manufacturers and producers, a label that ensures products are regenerative organic.
Dr. Bronner’s mission to improve the planet and the lives of its inhabitants goes beyond regenerative organic agriculture — the company has done extensive work toward educating the public and affecting policy in climate change resilience, animal advocacy, and drug policy reform. Its focus on issues like decriminalizing cannabis and mainstream acceptance of psychedelics may seem unrelated to soapmaking, but David makes a case for its alignment: “I would say integration of psychedelic medicine for healing and personal growth and spiritual practice has, in this sense, the most resonance to the All-One mission of my granddad,” he says. “It helps people heal up on a deep level and open their hearts and minds and be more empathic and less judgmental.” David says these types of grand goals have always been part of Dr. Bronner’s ethos. “You could see early on where we were going [as a company]. Our grandad founded our company as a nonprofit religious organization.” (The IRS disagreed with this self-designated tax-exempt status, and after declaring bankruptcy in the late 1980s, Dr. Bronner’s was reorganized as a for-profit business.) “We still have that nonprofit DNA at the heart of what we do,” he says.
Dr. Bronner’s sources oils from over 17,000 small farmers globally including coconut oil from Samoa and olive oil from Palestine.
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ISSUE 02
A GENIE IN THE BOTTLE
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