Dr. Bronner’s Announces All-One Germany Initiative to Support Advocacy for Social Justice, Animal Rights, and Environmental Sustainability in Germany

Top-Selling Natural Soap Brand Launches Pilot Program to Promote “Global Mission & Local Impact”

December 1, 2019

NEUSS, GERMANY – Dr. Bronner’s, the global top-selling organic and fair trade soap and body care brand, is proud to announce its new All-One Germany Initiative. This program is a local-to-Germany branch of a new global initiative called All-One International that seeks to ensure mission-aligned advocacy is supported in the markets that Dr. Bronner’s sells its products in and is at the heart of the company’s continuing global growth and expansion. Through this initiative, at a minimum, 1% of Dr. Bronner’s sales to the German market each year will be donated to local advocacy efforts in support of social justice, animal advocacy, and environmental sustainability. The launch of this initiative in the German market, as well as the UK, is a pilot program for 2019. The company plans to launch local All-One Initiatives in the majority of its international markets in 2020 following a similar mandate.

“As a companywide priority, the Dr. Bronner’s All-One International Initiative ensures our brand activism will have an impact in markets where our products are sold around the world and also will ensure that our impact is aligned with our local partners and what is relevant to them,” says Michael Bronner, President of Dr. Bronner’s. “In Germany, our distributors are deeply inspired by the extraordinary organizations we are supporting and are happy to help elevate awareness of these causes globally.”

By the end of 2019, Dr. Bronner’s All-One Germany will have donated to three highly effective organizations and initiatives within the country that are aligned with the company’s core focus areas. Animal Advocacy: Sea Shepherd; Environmental Sustainability: Polli and the Plastic; Community Betterment: People Berlin.

“Dr. Bronner’s embraces an approach to brand activism that seeks to build and strengthen movements across diverse groups, focusing on equity and inclusion,” says Axel Rungweber, Managing Director of Dr. Bronner’s Europe, which oversees the operations for Dr. Bronner’s Germany. “We are honored to work through the company in a way that provides opportunities to connect on a deeper humanitarian level beyond the integrity of our products. Together we hope that people will be just as motivated to support the selected organizations as we are, especially as we head into the giving season.”

 In addition to financial donations, the company has donated its soaps and other products to festivals, community and educational events, fundraisers, animal sanctuaries, and direct-action campaigns across Germany and around the world throughout the year.

One of the first official grants Dr. Bronner’s made this year under the banner of the All-One Germany Initiative was a $20,000 donation to Sea Shepherd, an organization the company has been supporting since 2015. Founded in 1977, Sea Shepherd has used innovative direct action tactics to defend, conserve and protect the delicately-balanced biodiversity of our seas and enforce international conservation laws. Sea Shepherd Global’s mission is to protect marine wildlife and end the destruction of habitat in the world’s oceans. In 2016, Dr. Bronner’s donated the MV Emanuel Bronner, a marine vessel named for the company’s founder, to Sea Shepherd Germany’s fleet to patrol the Baltic Sea for illegal fishing activity. Since 2013, Dr. Bronner’s has donated over $2 million to leading animal advocacy organizations and other efforts that are working to end the suffering and exploitation of animals.

“Sea Shepherd is thrilled to have the continued support of Dr. Bronner’s as both an ethical brand and a partner,” says Alex Cornelissen, CEO of Sea Shepherd Global. “We highly value Dr. Bronner’s as a company that has a deep understanding of the consequences of human actions on the planet. They aren’t afraid to stand up for what’s right and neither are we.”

Dr. Bronner’s is also pleased to be supporting the child educational initiative, Polli and the Plastic, which is inspired by Montessori schools and art therapy methods that conducts workshops for children between age 3 and 8. The workshops provide an immersive learning experience to help children understand the global problem of plastic waste and how to address it. This adventurous program helps children learn about patterns of human behavior and how to adopt behaviors that counteract the problem of plastic waste and empower young people to take positive action.

“It is profoundly helpful to have a company like Dr. Bronner’s supporting early childhood education around the issue of responsible waste management,” says Nina Jasny, general manager at Change&More g.UG, the organization administering the Polli and the Plastic initiative. “We appreciate Dr. Bronner’s sharing the responsibility of explaining to the next generation how we must all act together with immediacy to acknowledge the behaviors that enabled the global blight of plastic pollution in order to protect and manage resources that will ensure a livable future for our children.”

Dr. Bronner’s has been a long supporter of community betterment organizations and is pleased to be supporting People Berlin, a project of Karuna e.V., which works to help young people in need. Through People Berlin, at-risk children and adolescents struggling with lack of opportunities, homelessness, addiction, or mental illness are given the possibility of working with fashion and art. The world of fashion is the ideal medium for transporting the visions and thoughts of young people and creating a perception for them within society. The organization provides space and opportunity for creative exchange through workshops where young people can learn conceptual work, develop their skills, and sharpen their self-perception. Together with designers and creatives, youth are invited to collaborate on artistic collections that deal with relevant contemporary themes and include both fashion and objects to give a voice to their ideas. In addition to Dr. Bronner’s donations to the organization, People Berlin collections have been sold in Dr. Bronner’s Europe’s All-One Flagship Store in Berlin with all proceeds going directly back to the program.

“As we continue to see unprecedented inequality in the world, we are honored to have the collaboration of Dr. Bronner’s to make a positive impact together through the creative work that helps young people overcome the lack of prospects and to discover their own strengths and self-worth,” says Ayleen Meissner, Project Manager and Fashion Designer at People Berlin. “We deeply appreciate the support to create dignified opportunities for homeless and at-risk youth through compassion, collaboration, and education. Together, we are enabling the next generation to attain a higher quality of life through a community-oriented approach to empowering educational development.”

 

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About Dr. Bronner’s

Dr. Bronner’s is a family business committed to honoring the vision of founder Emanuel Bronner by making socially and environmentally responsible products of the highest quality, and by dedicating profits to help make a better world. Dr. Bronner’s commitment to social justice, environmental sustainability and progressive business practices is part of the company’s mission to put into practice the principles that inform the philosophy printed on the company’s iconic soap labels written by founder Emanuel Bronner. The company is the top-selling natural brand of soap in North America and widely renowned around the world. Based on 2018 sales, a bottle of Dr. Bronner’s soap was sold, on average, every 2.2 seconds throughout the year. For further information, please visit: https://info.drbronner.com.