Dr. Bronner’s Releases 2023 All-One! Report: “Take Care of Spaceship Earth!”
In 75th Year, Top-Selling Natural Brand of Soap Publishes Latest Annual Report on Social and Environmental Impact
August 1, 2023
VISTA, CA – Dr. Bronner’s, family-owned maker of the top-selling natural brand of soap in North America, has published its ninth annual All-One! Report entitled “Take Care of Spaceship Earth!” The brand’s unique take on a corporate social responsibility report summarizes the company’s philanthropic giving, environmental impact, and other important company developments in 2022. In 2022, the company gave away over 5% of profits, totaling more than $8.6 million in contributions, to approximately 300 organizations whose work advances causes that include animal advocacy, drug policy reform, regenerative organic agriculture, environment, fair pay and fair trade, criminal justice reform, civil and human rights, migrant justice, housing and homelessness, and community betterment. To view the 2023 All-One! Report, visit: www.allone.report/2023.
This year’s report highlights the origins and legacy of Dr. Bronner’s support for local nonprofits; supporting community betterment with its sister-company in Ghana through affordable school care systems and innovative recycling program; empowering women in regenerative organic cocoa farming and production; and the company’s latest efforts in sustainability and plastic reduction including the debut of its pilot retailer “Bulk Refill Station” in California and the launch of one of the most exciting liquid soap packaging innovations to date.
In the introduction to the report, company Cosmic Engagement Officer David Bronner and President Michael Bronner write, “Over the last twenty years, the company has contributed nearly $100 million to activism and charity and has fought to raise the minimum wage; reform the nation’s devastating drug policy; integrate psychedelic therapy to heal hearts and minds; protect farmed animals and ocean wildlife; and expose and transform industrial agriculture to a model that is regenerative organic and fair—among other efforts.”
Dr. Bronner’s focus on how to best care for the Earth and all its inhabitants took many forms in 2022. In the article, “From PCR to Paper: Small Changes for Big Impact,” the company shares the story behind the innovative, new Refill Carton packaging for its Castile Liquid Soaps. In an article titled “Cleaning Up Plastic Waste: Piloting Our Plastic Insetting Program,” the report details the formation of a plastic waste collection program in Asuom, Ghana, home of Serendipalm, the regenerative palm oil and cocoa supplier of Dr. Bronner’s. Dr. Bronner’s supports this operation through payment of fair wages and through an “inset fee” for each ton of waste collected, documented and recycled; and this program has become part of Dr. Bronner’s global campaign to reduce and ultimately eliminate its plastic footprint as a company.
Currently underway in 2023, Dr. Bronner’s is supporting the creation of a pre-school and elementary school in Asuom, Ghana, at Serendipalm’s Regenerative Learning Center. In addition to funding the infrastructure for the Center, Dr. Bronner’s has coordinated Montessori training for the teachers and school staff. The elementary school is expected to open in September of 2023, and will serve 40 children from grades one through four, in addition to the 100 pre-school children already enrolled.
All organizations supported through philanthropic sponsorships and charitable giving last year are listed in the report, along with the article entitled “Mutual Aid: Our Crisis Response Product Donation Program,” which summarizes Dr. Bronner’s efforts since 2020 to provide soap and hand sanitizer to mutual aid organizations that serve seniors, people experiencing homelessness, frontline workers, low-income communities, and other marginalized groups. This program has provided more than 200,000 units of hand sanitizer, and nearly 200,000 units of soap since its inception.
In addition to outlining support for myriad activist and advocacy efforts in the U.S., the 2023 All-One! Report also provides an overview of the brand’s international donations through Dr. Bronner’s All-One International Initiative, a program that launched in two countries in 2019 and has since expanded to 18 markets in 2022.
A leading Certified B Corp, Dr. Bronner’s currently holds a score of 206.7, and is recognized by B Lab as Best for the Worldä in both the Community and Environment categories. In measuring its own environmental impact in 2022, Dr. Bronner’s 2023 All-One! Report shares data related to waste generation, gallons of water used, greenhouse gas emissions, and electricity consumed. In sharing this information, the company seeks to both document its progress toward reducing its environmental footprint, as well as encourage other companies to embrace transparency and accountability in the collective responsibility to address human-caused climate change, especially in the manufacturing sector.
The report also details Dr. Bronner’s employee benefits and company finances, including fully-paid health insurance for all full-time employees, and the starting salary for regular workers set at $24.85 per hour—65% higher than California’s average hourly wage of $15.50 per hour. Dr. Bronner’s maintains a compensation ratio of the company’s highest paid executives to 5 times that of the lowest-paid fully-vested position. Furthermore, the report contains extensive company statistics offering data for such details as the number of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color employees who hold managerial positions; and the total numbers for jobs created and total number of smallholder farmers employed as part of the company’s global fair trade supply chain.
Dr. Bronner’s historic archive of previous years’ All-One! Reports is available at: http://www.drbronner.com/media-center/all-one-reports/.
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About Dr. Bronner’s
Founded in the U.S. in 1948, Dr. Bronner’s is the top-selling natural brand of soap in North America and a leading brand worldwide. The company is an independent, family-owned business based in California, committed to honoring the vision of founder Emanuel Bronner by making socially and environmentally responsible personal care and food 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 “All-One” philosophy printed on the company’s iconic soap labels. The company caps executive salaries at 5 times its lowest paid fully vested position and donates all profits not needed for business development. Dr. Bronner’s generated approximately $169 million in revenue in 2022 and gave an estimated $8.5 million to fund charity and activism. In 2022, a bottle or bar of Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Soap was sold, on average, every 0.95 seconds. 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of the company. To learn more, please visit: https://drbronner.com.