Dr. Bronner’s Announces Recipients of 2020 Animal Advocacy Donation Program
Top-Selling Natural Brand of Soap Marks 7 Years of Giving to End the Exploitation and Suffering of Animals
December 8, 2020
VISTA, CA – Dr. Bronner’s, the family-owned maker of the top-selling natural brand of soaps and body care products in North America, is proud to mark the seventh year of its philanthropy program to support efforts to end the exploitation and suffering of animals used for food. This commitment is made alongside the company’s other core causes, including regenerative organic agriculture, criminal justice reform, drug policy reform, fair trade & fair pay, and community initiatives in the San Diego area. By the end of 2020, Dr. Bronner’s will have donated over $3 million since 2013 to a variety of leading organizations that are working to expose and reduce the suffering of animals, while advocating for healthier and more sustainable food systems.
“The primary objectives of our animal advocacy giving program are to address the suffering of farmed animals, promote plant-based diets, protect wild ecosystems and marine life, and advance a greater understanding of animal rights in the U.S. and around the world,” said David Bronner, Cosmic Engagement Officer (CEO) of Dr. Bronner’s. “Importantly, the factory farming of animals and the production of their feed is a leading cause of greenhouse gasses driving climate change. This model is also rife with human rights abuses of laborers. When we look at the big picture of how everything is connected, it’s clear that animal advocacy efforts are not only working to improve the lives of animals, but of all life on our planet as we collectively strive to mitigate climate change and adopt regenerative organic agriculture models globally.”
The All-One Animal Advocacy Family
During the course of its 7 years to date, Dr. Bronner’s donation Animal Advocacy program has helped fuel policy change, establish multiple new organizations and sustain a host of others with critical resources. The work of these diverse groups addresses a broad scope of issues, from advocating for plant-based diets, to passing laws against the cruel and inhumane treatment of animals, and ocean conservation and protection efforts. Dr. Bronner’s has made donations totaling over $525,000 in 2020 to highly effective organizations and initiatives across three categories determined by donation levels, funding needs, and operational scale and focus. Donation recipients by category, include:
National Changemakers:
Animal Outlook
Compassion in World Farming (US)
Encompass
Farm Forward
Good Food Institute
Humane Society of the United States
Plant Based Foods Association
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
VINE Sanctuary
International Allies:
Animal Equality (Mexico)
Animal Justice (Canada)
Compassion in World Farming (UK)
Sea Shepherd Global
Movement Builders:
Black Vegans Rock
Factory Farm Awareness Coalition
project FANG
Our Hen House
Poplar Springs Animal Sanctuary
Reducetarian Foundation
Sanctuary @ SHO
Sistah Vegan Project
SÜPRMARKT
Vegan Outreach
Animal Advocacy for Social and Environmental Justice
Dr. Bronner’s overall philanthropic giving has actively responded to current events during this unprecedented year, including such monumental events as the global COVID-19 pandemic; increased social outrage at police and State violence against People of Color and the powerful growth of the Black Lives Matter Movement; and a nationwide election that clearly demonstrated American voters’ overwhelming support for drug policy reform. And while the company is providing financial support to these causes and movements, animal advocacy remains an integral cornerstone of Dr. Bronner’s advocacy focus and philanthropic priorities.
As the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic increasingly sheds light on systemic inequities such as access to healthcare and education, job insecurity and lack of basic income for working families, food insecurity and lack of affordable housing–the pandemic has also exposed the injustices that confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), otherwise known as factory farms, inflict on human workers, as well as animals. As the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths continues to rise exponentially among CAFO workers, it’s clear that work being done by Dr. Bronner’s partners to end the horrors of factory farming is not only helping animals but is also in the interest of laborers who are exposed to dangerous and abusive working conditions in the animal slaughter industry.
“We know that the disproportionate number of COVID-19 deaths among people of color in the U.S.—especially Black and indigenous people—is significantly impacted by living in regions of ‘food apartheid’. Such regions have dietary options that are heavier in animal products, saturated fats, refined sugar, and other processed foods produced by industrialized agriculture and factory farm systems. Limited and more nutritionally vapid dietary options, such as these, are major contributors to pre-existing health conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and heart disease, etc.,” said Dr. Breeze Harper, founder of the Sistah Vegan Project. “This year should be a wake-up call for everyone to recognize that access to plant-based and organic foods for all is not only an animal rights or environmental issue, but a profound social justice issue we must address if we are to fight back against the economic inequities in our food system that harm people of color and those living in poverty the most.”
Furthermore this year has also bore witness to alarming natural disasters resulting from human-caused climate change, including 2020 being among the hottest years ever on global record; devastating wildfires in U.S. Western states due to prolonged draught and unseasonably high temperatures; and environmental protection policies being dismantled at both the State and Federal levels. Given that meat production and consumption within the industrialized agriculture system is a leading contributor of greenhouse gas emissions, Dr. Bronner’s animal advocacy giving program recognizes that dismantling industrialized CAFO meat production and shifting food systems toward regenerative organic models is imperative now more than ever before, if the climate crisis is to be remediated.
“Marine wildlife is among the hardest-hit by human-caused climate change as sea creatures are disappearing at twice the rate of land-based species,” said Peter Hammarstedt of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. “It’s imperative that we take action at every level—from protecting and conserving marine wildlife and ocean habitats; to ending ocean pollution and illegal fishing—to reverse the climate crisis. We’re grateful for Dr. Bronner’s support in this work, as Sea Shepherd continues to protect and defend those whose suffering is often invisible and ignored.”
Dr. Bronner’s animal advocacy giving program anchors efforts to protect animals, the Earth, and human lives, in a diverse portfolio of philanthropic support. The company’s grantees and partners utilize myriad strategies to reduce the suffering and exploitation of non-human animals, increase public awareness, and create lasting change. These strategies include:
- Engaging in advocacy and education on animal rights, veganism, and plant-based eating;
- Expanding the markets for alternatives to factory farm products;
- Pursuing legislative changes to ban the worst practices on factory farms;
- Working with major corporations on policies to eliminate or reduce the use of factory farm products;
- Conducting undercover investigations that generate mainstream media coverage to expose the public to the worst abuses occurring on factory farms;
- Operating animal sanctuaries that provide safe haven for victims of animal abuse and educational opportunities for the public.
In addition to this giving program and other philanthropic efforts in 2020, Dr. Bronner’s announced the launch of its All-One International Initiative, an umbrella program of the company and its distributors around the world to ensure that localized mission-aligned activism is a major priority in the international markets that Dr. Bronner’s products are sold in. The initiative includes animal advocacy as a core category, and in 2020 funded a variety of animal protection efforts in Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, South Korea, and Taiwan, among other countries.
“Support for animal advocacy is at the core of our philanthropic and activist agenda, and we are fully committed to this program, both at home and abroad,” said Michael Bronner, President of Dr. Bronner’s. “We are proud to continuously expand our philanthropic giving to reduce the suffering and exploitation of animals used for food. We encourage other like-minded companies who are involved in combatting climate change to join us in supporting animal advocacy efforts by opposing factory farming and promoting alternative food choices, in the shared goal of protecting all life on our shared planet.”
In addition to financial donations, this year the company donated its soaps and other products to virtual conferences, educational events, fundraisers, and animal sanctuaries. The company continues to serve its on-site employees free, vegan organic lunches daily, and this year launched its first Regenerative Organic Certified vegan product – Regenerative Organic Coconut Oil.
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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 a major brand worldwide. Based on 2019 sales, a bottle of Dr. Bronner’s soap was sold, on average, every 2.04 seconds throughout the year. For further information, please visit: https://info.drbronner.com.