41
votes
Is Dr. Bronner’s the last corporation with a soul?
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- Authors
- Carrie Battan, Photography by Shaughn and John, Kate Sloan, Jason Diamond, Gerald Ortiz, Esther Zuckerman
- Published
- Jun 15 2023
- Word count
- 4756 words
I’m a business owner and have always desired to shape my business to be adding good to this world. Often times the pressures of capitalism directly counter that desire - cuts to employee benefits, salaries, etc to increase profits is a constant pressure, along with the temptation to sell and take a lucrative exit, or bring in talented executives (at exorbitant salaries).
I admire any company with a model focused on sustaining for the long haul, a model that gives employees pay and benefits substantial enough to give them fulfillment and free their personal lives from worry, a model that is ethical and dutiful in product craftsmanship, and founders that resist the urge to “sell out” (which almost always means those ethics get corrupted by the acquiring giant).
And you know what - in a world where companies are driven by quarterly profits, 18 month cycles of VC growth, and near term exit plans… a company that prioritizes fairness, equitable wages, employee wellness, etc is a company that has a much much longer time horizon for success.
A company built on these tenets is significantly better equipped to weather economic downturns, pandemics, consumer sentiment shifts, and labor market shifts. As is evidenced by Bronner’s history.
Bronner’s has seemingly done an admirable job of this, even their online employee reviews validate this. I really respect them for it and hope they can continue this approach into future generations, even after David and team hand off the company to the next owners.
I truly believe that for our world to survive capitalism we will have to adjust the existing model that focuses on “increasing shareholder value each quarter” to a model that incentivizes positive impacts over the long term - more of a generational outlook on business.
IMHO that’s the only way for us to keep capitalism from eating us all alive.
Folk misunderstood their fiduciary responsibility to be "maximum profit". It really just means don't be intentionally irresponsible.
To some extent I agree with this - however I would say most of the time the “max profit” is driven moreso by external pressures… not always even greed.
A common example is often the pressures of shareholders or private investors on your growth. Constant growth inevitably will require you to start taking money from things you value and transfer that value to your company/shareholders/investors. That’s just the nature of “late stage capitalism”.
But there are more nuanced things that often people overlook that I feel are often the things that slowly turn good intentioned owners into profit-motivated individuals. Like for example - as a company you can choose to have a really nice office and other expenses. But does that come at the expense of employee salaries? Especially when an office is an asset that adds value to your company and salaries are not. Even good people may tend to choose the asset value path here.
Another example - if times are good, your profit is good, you may be willing to spend a lot on overhead expenses, etc. But imagine your company experiences a temporary period of deflated revenue, tough times, or lack of growth…. After coming through that how would you operate your business differently? More than likely you would hold tighter reins on cash flow and limit your overhead expenses. You may sacrifice product quality in order to have more in your savings.
I’m not saying this is the right decision, but I believe this is a common scenario and many fall into this pattern of protectionism not out of greed, but out of a desire to preserve themselves, which is simple human nature.
It is EXTREMELY challenging to operate and keep solvent a business that ALWAYS prioritizes human good.
Interesting article, thanks. I don't think any corporation has a soul, but Doc Bronner's has good management and they make fabulous soap. Try the peppermint.
Not a paid advertisement.
My mom only buys the peppermint so I thought that was their only soap! It was good soap but the peppermint scent was way too strong for me. Might look into their other scents if I see them now lol
I love their lavender, it smells like you jumped into a bush. It's a really fresh, full, natural smell.
I'm pretty sure they have an unscented version... myself, I love almond for hand soap and tea tree for showers. Definitely wouldn't recommend you the tea tree as it's quite pungent! But the almond may be worth a try.
Serious question that I want to ask here because I can’t in real life: Does anyone like the feeling of peppermint Dr. Bronner’s soap on their genitals?
I just can’t imagine how it is enjoyable to people.
Edit:
To me it feels cold in a chemical burn kind of way, but maybe I'm allergic lol.
It’s a bit spicy 🥵 4 my nether regions.
I definitely do. My wife and I exclusively buy the peppermint and the almond. Some tiktoker said that the eucalyptus is even better, but it didn't feel like anything to me.
If you follow the dilute! directions, it is refreshing and awesome.
I always warn guests who stay overnight to be careful with the bottled soap. :)
After about 25 years of using it I’m accustomed to it and it’s not nearly as shocking as I recall it being the first time and I find it to be a refreshing way to wake up and a nice cooling effect in the summer.
Only the peppermint does that, the others aren’t as “invigorating”.
If it's during the summer and especially if I'm showering after physical activity made me hot and sweaty: yes, absolutely. It provides a wonderful cold feeling.
Any other time of the year? BRRRRRRRRRRRR!
I've used both the bar soap and the liquid Bronner, and never noticed any extra tingling down under. I could use some extra tingling, too...
All of Dr Bronner's liquid Castille soaps are meant to be diluted (i think it says so on the label). I use the peppermint (and other versions) diluted at something like six parts water to one part soap and store it in a pump bottle. No burning. Just moisturized, clean skin. It's the best soap I've used btw.
ETA: I've found that using the peppermint version helps keep mosquitos away. I use it during the summer and definitely noticed fewer bites.
I'm actually upset because I have a lot more soap than I can use in a year and don't have any peppermint. I love that stuff, and the tingle is a plus for me. Peppermint is the ideal scent IMHO; it helps wake me up but mellows out after a fairly short time so I'm not smelling 'perfumey'.
This sounds so much like the previous generation of "we're a family" corporate culture that changed into the "we're hip and different because we do quirky things here".
It reminds me of (I wish I could find the clip) the speech where an ex-Microsoft employee was fired on the spot by Steve Ballmer for not shouting out enough enthusiasm for a new idea.
The bottles are wild, but their soap is amazing.
If you think they’re wild, the current generation of bottles is far less so than they were 20 years or so ago. I’ve been using it for about 25-30 years and noticed a while back that they modified the labels and there was far less text, and some of the most “interesting” bits were missing.
EDIT: I found this on their website:
https://info.drbronner.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/2018-Label-Evolution-Timeline.jpg
I remember those early very dense labels, pre 2005. I didn’t realize that the change was that long ago.
30 years ago the bottle text was wild! Well worth it for the soap! I remember some of the text was telling you how to use it for birth control FCS!
I miss how kooky the bottles were back in the day. I don't mind the cleaned up more corporate labels but if they ever change the formulation or sell the business (which would lead inevitably to lower quality) i would be devastated. It's my holy grail soap - just reliably excellent.
There are other simelar castile soaps on the market, but AFAIK none that are certified fair trade and using entirely sustainable materials (IIRC Dr. Bronner's owns the plantations that grow the oil palms they use in the production of their soaps). Beyond that, they tend to be a lot harder to track down; Dr. Bronner's is sold just about everywhere in the US now.
Oh wow, I had no idea
Is it this video? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GM4Lt5k24s
No but that perfectly encapsulates it. Ballmer sounded like a sociopath who didn't think he could get away with killing a human so he's doing the next best thing to him.
Nothing like killing the enemy in the morning! OR....or I could just make soap. SOAP¬ thats the ticket!
No denying, it's really good stuff though, so I guess a win overall!?
I've heard the product is good and I'm glad they run their business pro-human but their labels always drove me away as they look like the ravings of a mad person.
They technically are as he was in an asylum at once point in his life. He was an interesting guy. Seems like all his madness was centered around being kind to each other, and his sons seen to be carrying on the legacy with the way they run the business. It certainly makes for a substantial bathroom reader when your phone has died!
I would challenge you to read them, and then ponder what it effect it would have on your life if you followed the tenets they lay out. The ramblings actually make a ton of sense.
I don't know if any corporation has a soul but if they do this corporation probably isn't the only one.
Like Betteridge's law of headlines says: “Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no.”.
Huh, didn't know they had chocolate, only every heard about the peppermint soap from people using it undiluted. I'll have to be on the lookout for that.
My lord, I will use this soap till the day I die.