Dr. Bronner’s to Donate $100,000 to Vegetarian and Farm Animal Advocacy
Products Now Certified by Vegan Action in the U.S. and Registered with The Vegan Society in the U.K.
January 15, 2014
VISTA, CA – Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, the family-owned maker of the top-selling brand of natural soaps in North America, is pleased to announce that vegetarian advocacy and animal welfare will become a core focus of the company’s activism efforts, alongside its ongoing commitment to Fair Trade, organic integrity, GMO labeling, industrial hemp, drug policy reform and other causes.
“As a dedicated vegan, I’m proud that my family has stepped up to commit resources over the long-term to take on the terrible plight of farm animals and to promote more compassionate and sustainable dietary choices,” says David Bronner, President of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps. “One doesn’t have to be vegan to want to reduce the incredible suffering of animals in factory farms and to lower overall meat consumption.”
Dr. Bronner’s will give $100,000 over the course of 2014 to Compassion Over Killing, The Humane Society of the United States and other effective organizations advocating on behalf of animals and working to reduce animal suffering, including The Humane League, Our Hen House, Farm Sanctuary shelters in Orland, and Los Angeles, CA, as well as Poplar Springs and Vine Sanctuary on the east coast. David Bronner will also join the Farm Animal Protection Council of the Humane Society. In addition, the company intends to substantially step up its level of support in the future.
“Dr. Bronner’s generous support is enabling us to further expand upon many of our effective pro-vegetarian outreach campaigns, our work with cities and schools to endorse Meatless Mondays, and our powerful undercover investigations exposing the routine abuses forced upon billions of farmed animals,” says Erica Meier, Executive Director of Compassion Over Killing. “We’re proud to have Dr. Bronner’s as a partner. By working together, we can empower a growing number of people to protect animals and make kinder, healthier and more sustainable choices.”
“The Humane Society of the United States is honored to have the support of Dr. Bronner’s for our farm animal protection work and other animal advocacy efforts,” adds Paul Shapiro, Vice President of Farm Animal Protection at the Humane Society. “Farm animals are fortunate to have a company as socially responsible and morally motivated as Dr. Bronner’s to help give them a voice. As its track record indicates, the company is a powerful ally.”
To complement these financial contributions, Dr. Bronner’s has also completed vegan certification with Vegan Action for all eligible products, and it is now also registered by The Vegan Society in the U.K. This certification assures the growing population of vegans that no animal testing or animal ingredients are used in Dr. Bronner’s products that carry the certification. The “Vegan-Certified” logo will be added to the company’s labels in the U.S. on some products as space allows, and it will be promoted and expanded upon further on the company’s Web site and online store.
While the formulas for Dr. Bronner’s soaps, lotions, shave gels, hair rinse and hair crèmes have always been vegan and have not changed, the vegan certification will help those interested in vegan and cruelty-free products shop without having to closely scrutinize all the ingredients lists. The lip and body balms have not received vegan certification, however, as they contain Fair Trade and organic beeswax. The beeswax is sourced from beekeepers in Zambia who do not kill the queen bees annually in order to maximize production, which is a common practice in conventional beekeeping operations.
Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps’ commitment to animal welfare, sustainable agriculture and income equality reflects the company’s mission to practice the social and ecological principles that inform Dr. Bronner’s philosophy.
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