Honor thy label Dr. Bronner's unconventional journey to a clean, green, and ethical supply chain

Gero Leson

Book - 2021

"The inside story of iconic soapmaker Dr. Bronner's and their renowned, pioneering supply chain--rooted in sustainable, socially just business. With Foreword from CEO David Bronner. If you know Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, you likely know their ebullient labels and the tingling of their peppermint pure-castile soap. But how did this distinctive product labeled "All-One!" and "Spaceship Earth!" garner mainstream adoration for not only its natural soap, but for their ethical commitments? Per former Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario, "They have the best supply chain practices, of course." From Dr. Bronner's head of special operations Gero Leson, Honor Thy Label is the inside story of how a family-run s...oap company created a new fair trade and organic supply chain from the ground up. Through stories of harrowing setbacks and hard-won triumphs in projects that spanned the globe, Leson illuminates the challenges of building and scaling ethical production for increasingly popular products--and ultimately, the immense benefits for communities and the environment. In the tradition of Let My People Go Surfing, Honor Thy Label describes a journey to break boundaries of production, making Dr. Bronner's a pioneer of socially-just business--enacting a radical vision with simple, regenerative and fair trade ingredients. It's all in the label"--

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Subjects
Published
New York : Portfolio/Penguin [2021]
Language
English
Main Author
Gero Leson (author)
Other Authors
David Bronner, 1973- (writer of foreword)
Physical Description
xxii, 329 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9780593087411
  • Foreword
  • Glossary of Acronyms and Commonly Used Terms
  • Introduction
  • Part 1. Work Hard! Prosper!
  • Chapter 1. What Do You Do When Disaster Strikes?
  • Trudy Bronner on taking care of a company
  • Chapter 2. Hemp and Hysteria
  • David Bronner on leading an activist organization
  • Chapter 3. The Dirt on Soap
  • Mike Bronner on balancing "soap and soul"
  • Chapter 4. How to Make Clean Soap
  • Michael Milam on bringing fair trade principles to the modern office
  • Chapter 5. Serendipity in Sri Lanka
  • Financing and structuring a fair trade project
  • Chapter 6. Riding the VCO Wave
  • Chapter 7. German Roots, German Connections
  • Part 2. Learn, Grow, Improve
  • Chapter 8. Olive Oil-A Symbol of Hope in the Holy Land
  • Tea tree: a strong flavor and a value-added crop
  • Chapter 9. Palm Oil-Redeeming an "Evil Crop"
  • Building a "Special Operations" team
  • Chapter 10. Cocoa-The Path to Regenerative Chocolate
  • Sweet and strong-sugar and alcohol from South America
  • Chapter 11. Tales of Mint, Deception, and Compost
  • Lavender and lavandin: aroma from a place of beauty
  • Chapter 12. The Quest for an Organic and Fair Global Coconut Oil Trade
  • Jojoba oil from the Mexican desert
  • Chapter 13. Soap Making and Special Operations in the Time of Corona
  • Conclusion Good Business Is the Engine That Makes It All Possible
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • Index
Review by Booklist Review

It's one thing to be a conscientious consumer, carefully reading labels to ascertain the purity of a product's ingredients. It's another to delve beyond the label to consider the myriad components that go into developing, manufacturing, and distributing said product. For users of the venerable Dr. Bronner line of soaps, personal care products, and household cleansers, such a level of curiosity would reveal a bedrock commitment to quality not only in the ingredients used but also to a broader mission of establishing a socially responsible corporate culture. As director of special operations, Leson is an essential Bronner insider, traveling the globe from Sri Lanka to Samoa, sourcing raw materials, and forging key partnerships to create an intricate supply chain beneficial to all involved. In this comprehensive corporate biography, Leson takes readers inside boardrooms and down back roads to provide a thoroughly transparent look at the challenges and solutions in launching and maintaining an ethically resourced, sustainably produced, fair trade business model that honors not only the label but the planet and its people as well.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.