Dr. Bronner’s Responds to Trump’s Recent Executive Order Temporarily Suspending Refugees and Banning Immigrants from Seven Countries
January 30, 2017
VISTA, CA – Dr. Bronner’s, family-owned maker of the top-selling natural brand of soap in North America, issued the following statement today opposing Trump’s executive order temporarily suspending refugees and banning immigrants from seven countries from the U.S.
Dr. Bronner’s was founded in the U.S. by Emanuel Bronner who, after losing his parents in the Holocaust, promoted a message of love and unity, not hate and revenge. In what he would call the “Moral ABC,” Emanuel urged us to realize our unity across religious & ethnic divides or perish: “We are All-One or None!” For Dr. Bronner, the tragic consequences of racial and religious division were all too real.
This weekend, Trump closed the country’s borders to refugees, immigrants, and documented residents from around the world based on their country of origin and implicitly, their Muslim faith. Banning people of a particular faith from entering the U.S. is against all the principles that Dr. Bronner’s is founded on. It is also un-American. As Dr. Bronner himself would have put it: “It is utter nonsense, the most destructive half-truth!”
Our company today reflects not only the mixed Jewish and Christian heritage of the Bronner family, but also Muslim leadership at our fair trade sister companies around the world: Serendipalm in Ghana (palm oil, with a largely Christian workforce and farmer base); and Serendipol in Sri Lanka (coconut oil, with a largely Buddhist workforce and farmer base). We source our olive oil from Muslim and Christian farmers in Palestine (Canaan Fair Trade), as well as Jewish, Christian and Muslim farmers in Israel (from the Strauss family farm and Sindyanna). Our company has only gained strength and ingenuity from its commitment to working across international borders and with a diversity of religious faiths.
Our American workforce here in North County San Diego is predominantly of Mexican ancestry—many are proud immigrants, just as Emanuel Bronner was, living and contributing to the American dream that our founders fought for.
We are donating today $50,000 to the National Immigration Law Center—and will continue to stand with our diverse community both in the U.S. and internationally, the “children of Abraham-Israel-Baháulláh-Moses-Buddha-Jesus-Mohammed!” We are committed to Emanuel’s words: “Unite! Get done! Fear not, for we’re All-One!”
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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 2015 sales, a bottle of Dr. Bronner’s soap was sold, on average, every 3 seconds throughout the year.
For further information on Dr. Bronner’s, please visit: https://info.drbronner.com.