Product Review: Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap

Dr. Bronner's is one serious hippie product, but that hasn't stopped the company from making a crossover into mainstream stores and to become one of the best loved brands in the country.

Not familiar with Dr. Bronner's pure castile soap? It is a natural oil based soap, made from coconut, hemp, jojoba and other earth-and body-friendly ingredients for scent and cleaning power. The soaps come in bottles with labels of every color of the rainbow and include scents of all-natural origin: peppermint, lavender, almond, rose, citrus and more. There are lots of scents to love (my favorite is rose and almond) and all are delicious. The soap is silky smooth and can be used for body wash, shampoo, laundry and natural cleaning around the house. I buy a gallon every few months and use it for everything: to clean the bathtub, toilet, wash my face, to give my hair a just-surfed look and to keep my cute panties clean. It truly is a magic soap.

But not only are the Dr. Bronner's bottles colorful, they are adorned with the (seemingly chaotic and zealous) writings of the founder, the late Emmanuel Bronner. Though the soap company had humble and difficult beginnings, they have made a name for themselves around the world with their soaps and their ideals. And now business is booming: according to an article in Inc. Magazine, "[Dr. Bronner's is] the top-selling organic liquid and bar soap brand in North America. Dr. Bronner's notched more than $44 million in sales in 2011. It has grown well over 1,000 percent in the past 12 years." Pretty impressive indeed.

But, beyond making sales, Dr.. Bronners is making a difference. Not only are all their products organic and fair-trade, the leaders of the company fight hard for their causes. David Bronner, the son of the founder, works hard to legalize hemp, which is a main ingredient in their soaps. Industrial hemp is not legal in the United States, so all the hemp products (seeds and oil) come from Canada, where hemp growing is legal. Hemp is a super sustainable crop, grown for fiber, fuel and food.

In this post on Triple Pundit, the author says that David Bronner, "truly believes in using the company’s resources to fight for what is right. Frustrated by their difficulty sourcing hemp oil, Dr. Bronner’s litigated against the Drug Enforcement Agency under the George W. Bush administration, which opened the door to industrial hemp making its way into more American products."

This is the type of company I love to support: fighting the good fight, producing quality, organic products and supporting farmers and workers around the world. Magic indeed!