Transformation doesn’t happen overnight. At Dr. Bronner’s — the family-run company specializing in organic, fair-trade soap and personal care products — evolution has occurred over generations. For more than 75 years, the business has transcended cultural movements and global shifts to become one of the most popular and values-driven companies in our modern consumer landscape. With a unique founding philosophy and commitments to environmental sustainability, regenerative organic farming practices, social justice, and corporate responsibility, Dr. Bronner’s is a master class in adapting to change while remaining true to a vision.
I’m sitting on a colorful, squishy sofa in David Bronner’s office, located in Dr. Bronner’s Vista, California, headquarters. David, the company’s CEO (that’s Cosmic Engagement Officer here) perches across from me on his own comfy, lived-in couch. We quickly dive into all things Dr. Bronner’s, including the company’s production partners in the Middle East; its sister companies in Sri Lanka and Ghana that invest in fair trade and ethically produced coconut, palm, and cacao oil; and the brand’s championing of therapeutic psychedelics — work David personally oversees.
And, of course, we’re talking about soap. The company is an intriguing, somewhat mystifying congruence of high-minded values and boots-on-the-ground methods catalyzed by a simple product for washing up. It turns out, there’s more to Dr. Bronner’s than you might expect.
Emanuel Bronner, founder of Dr. Bronner’s, with his magic soaps in Escondido, California, in 1978.
Man on a Mission
Emanuel Heilbronner was born in Laupheim, Germany, in 1908 to a family of master soapmakers. Heilbronner began apprenticing in the family business in the early 1920s, becoming a third-generation master soapmaker with a degree in chemistry (not a Ph.D., however — the “Dr.” in Dr. Bronner’s was self-proclaimed). In 1929, following clashes with his father and uncles, Heilbronner emigrated to the United States, narrowly missing the Nazi takeover of Germany and consequently dropping the first syllable of his surname. His parents were killed in the Holocaust, and his experience greatly informed the “All-One” philosophy he developed: Despite differences in religions, ethnicities, and beliefs, humans must realize our interconnectedness. “We Are All-One or None!” Dr. Bronner’s soap labels still state.
Emanuel spent years espousing his All-One philosophy. As a result of his fervent and sometimes disruptive methods, he was committed to an insane asylum, where he was forced to undergo shock therapy. He eventually escaped, making his way to Los Angeles in the 1940s. On the West Coast, he set up shop, founding Dr. Bronner’s Soap in 1948 and laying the foundation for a business that continues to thrive today.
Bronner was an intense and demanding individual, which affected family dynamics. “My dad and grandad had a kind of difficult relationship,” David tells the Rooted Journal. “His wife, my grandmother, died when my dad was really young. My grandad went out West to pursue his mission and financially supported his kids and would check in but was basically absent as a father.” David’s father, Jim, worked with Emanuel making soap, but they weren’t close outside of the business.
David, too, found it difficult to relate to his grandfather. “He was coming off the mountaintop all the time,” he says, referring to Emanuel’s constant proselytizing. “I didn’t understand what he was talking about.” That changed for David after some “really big psychedelic experiences. I realized my granddad was totally right — that all the faith traditions at their best are pointing at this transcendent love and light, and that somehow in the midst of the suffering and absurdity of the world, that is our deepest truth and ground of our being.”
David decided to join Dr. Bronner’s in the late ’90s (Emanuel died in 1997). “I was able to tell my granddad I understood him and that I was going to dedicate my life to his passion,” he says. A few years later, Michael, David’s younger brother, came on board too. He’s now the president, sister Lisa is the brand’s consumer educator, and mom Trudy is chief financial officer.
From top: Home of Emanuel and Luise Heilbronner (Emanuel’s grandparents) in Laupheim, Germany; birthplace of Berthold Heilbronner, father of Emanuel. The tenement apartment in Los Angeles where Emanuel Bronner started making his own soap in the United States in 1948. Emanuel Bronner and his wife, Gladys Bronner. A sign at Dr. Bronner’s Escondido facility.
Staying Rooted While Branching Out
Since taking on leadership roles in the company around the turn of the century, the brothers have helped transform Dr. Bronner’s from a cult favorite among hippies into one of the best-selling natural personal care brands in the United States. The company’s products are now sold all over the world.
Dr. Bronner’s has managed to stay relevant while staying true to its roots. “I think the overall integration of health and wellness into the mainstream [has helped],” David says. “And taking real, meaningful stands on issues. From genetic engineering of food and our right to know, to advocacy around drug policy reform — cannabis and psychedelics — to animal welfare, to fair trade minimum-wage advocacy, I think we’ve been able to connect with a lot of people who are passionate about those issues.”
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.
A thousand different label combos destined for soaps sent around the world.
Leading the Regenerative Way
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. 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 sources oils from over 17,000 small farmers globally including coconut oil from Samoa and olive oil from Palestine.
Using Soap to Spearhead Change
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.
1. Every ounce of Dr. Bronner’s business is tracked to measure impact.
2. The All-One Magic Foam Experience has been traveling around since the 1980s, blasting tingling suds at music festivals, parades, beach parties, and mud runs.
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. One way Dr. Bronner’s does this is by capping executive salaries; no one makes more than five times the salary of the company’s lowest-paid full-time employee who’s been in the position for five years. Profits are put toward the brand’s idea of the greater good. In 2023, the company donated nearly $5.7 million, including $300,000 to animal advocacy; $451,000 to regenerative organic agriculture organizations, and $2.6 million to drug policy reform, among other causes like migration justice, fair trade, and fair wage.
The company also works toward policy change, providing funding and in-kind labor contributions to campaigns and initiatives, and building awareness for causes like cannabis policy reform (for industrial hemp and marijuana), organic labeling integrity and certification for personal care products (to battle greenwashing), genetically modified organism (GMO) product labeling, and access to psychedelic-assisted therapy and plant and fungal medicine.
Dr. Bronner’s has come a long way since Emanuel launched the brand, but its through line is clear: to make real, positive, and lasting change in the world. With each bottle of soap sold, the company is proving that you can make a profit and do something good with it.
