Can a soap company help us save our planet?

By KATHY MORAWSKI
Posted 4/20/22

A little over a year ago I decided to finally rid my home and art studio of all products containing any chemicals or artificial scents. I was using what I thought were somewhat sustainable choices …

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Can a soap company help us save our planet?

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A little over a year ago I decided to finally rid my home and art studio of all products containing any chemicals or artificial scents. I was using what I thought were somewhat sustainable choices for my soaps and cleaning products but then read about how many companies “greenwash” their products. They can label them as all-natural or organic, even if only one ingredient is actually organic. And while an ingredient may be organic, it doesn’t mean it was ethically or sustainably sourced.

I was aware of Dr. Bronner’s organic soaps but didn’t know much about them, so I did some research. Dr. Bronner’s is transparent about their product’s ingredients and how they do business. The company created a revolutionary fair trade and organic supply chain from the ground up. The results ripple out to benefit customers, communities and the environment we all share. They are proving that sustainability, fair trade and regenerative agriculture really helps people and the planet. How they support social justice and treat their own employees and farm suppliers is stellar as well. They walk their talk and are pioneering a movement that the more it grows, the better it is for the planet.

Well, that sounded great! But how do their products actually work? I decided to experiment and replaced all of my body care, toothpaste and home cleaning products with Dr. Bronner’s. I’m now entering my second year of exclusively using them in the shower, as shampoo, body and hand soap, for dishes, laundry, and all other house and car cleaning.

The verdict? They really do work great! Their liquid soaps and Sal Suds biodegradable cleaner are super concentrated and need to be diluted with water. So they surprisingly worked out to be more cost effective than the chemical laden products in the big box stores. Another win! You can get the soaps as bars or as liquids up to a gallon in size. Some stores carrying Dr. Bronner’s will refill your existing bottles so you could literally never have to buy another plastic bottle again.

Dr. Bronner’s has a great website and blog with tips on how to use their products to sustainably clean anything. I used to clean windows with a chemical blue liquid spray product and paper towels. Now I clean them with a refillable spray bottle containing diluted Sal Suds (only 1 Tbsp of product to 1 liter of water) and a squeegee. It’s amazingly easy and effective. No streaks and no paper towels!

I love using these soaps because they are good products that I feel good about using. Just using them is good for our health and how they are made is good for farmers and our planet’s health. Now no one in our home, including our pets, is exposed to any chemicals and any residue that goes down our drains (and eventually ends up leeching underground) is all-natural, organic and biodegradable.

Using Dr. Bronner’s has enhanced and simplified my life and I will never again buy body care and cleaning products from unethical corporations that care more about CEO salaries and shareholder profits than people or planet. Imagine if more companies were committed to making socially and environmentally responsible products of the highest quality while dedicating profits to help make a better world. Ethical supply chains and regenerative agriculture could be our new normal.

Dr. Bronner's, soaps

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  • DKR

    A good book to learn more about this is “Honor Thy Label: Dr. Bronner’s Unconventional Journey to a Clean, Green and Ethical Supply Chain” by Gero Lesson. Our local Western Sullivan Public Library has the book so be sure to check it out!

    Thursday, April 21, 2022 Report this