In the late 1940s, Dr. Emanuel Bronner created his homemade soaps to promote a message of world peace. That dedication to making the world a better place continues today at Dr. Bronner’s with his grandsons, David and Michael Bronner, at the helm. Their sister Lisa Bronner also takes an active role in the company as a prolific blogger on all things green, while being a highly respected educator on issues related to non-toxic living, such as GMOs and honest labeling of cleaning products.
Dr. Bronner’s now offers a range of fair trade and organic products, including lotions, lip balms, hand sanitizer, and shaving soap.
All major ingredients in Dr. Bronner’s products come from certified fair trade and organic sources, including coconut oil from Sri Lanka, palm oil from small family farms in Ghana and olive oil from Palestine and Israel.
“A lot of the good that Dr. Bronner’s does is contained right in the bottle,” says Lisa Bronner when explaining the company’s business model. “When you use our soap, you know that the product was made in a way that did not harm the environment, and that all workers and farmers throughout the supply chain were treated fairly for their work.”
Even so, the company also dedicates a lot of profits towards fighting for causes it believes in, such as the accurate labeling of GMO products, or stricter standards in the nautral marketplace for organic and fair trade products.
“A lot of what I teach customers is just how to read labels carefully,” says Lisa Bronner. “We need to ask the questions, to find out what is in the products we use daily on and in our bodies, what is best for us and our families.”
Many of the tips and recipes that Lisa talks about on her blog are inspired by her own homelife and her experience raising children. “I think people connect to my blog because they see that I’m a real person working hard to make the right choices for my kids – to clean in a way that give me peace of mind.” Her blog is a wealth of green cleaning how-to’s, from washing your dog to taking stubborn stains out of your carpet.
Watch Lisa’s Green Cleaning Starter Kit video here: