If you are trying to run a zero waste home and live an eco friendly life, there are many who will point to one item you simply cannot be without – Dr Bronner’s 18-in-1 soap.
Americans have taken it to their hearts and it is the number one selling natural soap on the market, but not everyone across the world is aware of the all-purpose product, or the remarkable family company behind it.
More on the eco credentials of Dr Bronner’s shortly, but first let us examine that 18-in-1 claim.
Is it actually true? Can you really brush your teeth with the same liquid that you use for shampooing your dog?
Well, kind of…. I mean yes, you can, but you might want to use the peppermint version as a toothpaste substitute. But it’s all the same Pure-Castile Soap.
Here’s a video to describe all 18 suggested uses of what must be the most multi-purpose environmentally-friendly product on the market. If you haven’t got time to watch that, explanatory words follow…
The 18 uses of Dr Bronner’s Pure-Castile Soap
1. HAND SOAP
Let’s start off gently, you’d expect this from a soap. Use a few drops, work into a lather, and enjoy the experience… and this can also be said for using the product as:
2. FACIAL CLEANSER
3. SHOWER GEL
Then we move into other familiar territory:
4. SHAMPOO
Suggested as being ideal for a travel shampoo, and of particularly good use outdoors.
5. SHAVING LOTION
Between 5 and 10 drops should work into a suitable lather for shaving anywhere on the body.
6. BATH RELAXANT
For extra body care, Dr Bronner’s recommends using the soap, plus 2 tablespoons of olive oil in your hot water.
7. FOOTBATH
A mini relaxing experience, just a few drops of soap and a warm bowl of water required.
Then it gets a bit crazier…
8. HOUSEHOLD CLEANER
Not only can this soap clean you and your family, it is suitable for bringing a shine to your floors, windows, kitchen and bathroom – dilute with warm water in a bucket.
So it makes sense, I guess, that it is also recommended as:
9. STAIN REMOVER
10. BRUSH CLEANER
11. DISHWASHING LIQUID
But let’s not stop there, what about the clothes you’re wearing…
12. LAUNDRY HANDWASH
And why should your four-legged friends miss out?!
13. PET SHAMPOO
Soak your dog’s fur with water (or cat, or rabbit, or anything I suppose…) and then you might want to opt for the Baby-Mild version of the Pure-Castile Liquid Soap for the shampooing.
Now get out into the garden!
14. PLANT AND BUG SPRAY
Dilute a few drops of Pure-Castile Liquid Soap (the Lavender one is suggested) with water, and add ½ tsp of cayenne pepper, to spray plants with it.
If it’s ok to spray plants with the soap, it should come as no surprise that it’s also recommended as:
15. FRUIT & VEGGIE RINSE
Again, using the Baby-Mild Pure-Castile Liquid Soap is suggested.
And yes, we’re going to go there. It’s ok to put this stuff into your body as well, for a short time at least…
16. INHALATION REMEDY
Clear those tubes by putting a few drops of soap into a bowl of hot water, then cover your head with a towel, lean over the bowl and breathe in and out.
17. TOOTHPASTE
Add one drop of the Peppermint Pure-Castile Liquid Soap to your bamboo toothbrush, then dip it in a glass of water. That’s all you need to do, bar actually brushing your teeth.
18. MOUTHWASH
Same as above, but add the soap to the water and rinse your mouth with it.
Just think of the number of bottles you won’t need to buy any more! Just think of the space you will save! All while helping this wonderful planet of ours to recover a little.
Dr Bronner’s eco credentials
As a business, D Bronner’s has been an environmental leader since inception more than a century ago.
It is a Certified B Corporation – using business as a force for good. This requires meeting rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.
The company ticks many boxes to achieve the highest ethical standards across the world.
Environmental promises and achievements have included:
- Commiting to climate positivity by 2025, by sending zero waste to landfill, using renewable power, efficient transportation and responsible packaging, and sourcing raw materials from smallholder farmers who use regenerative organic practices.
- Dr Bronner’s turns used plastic bottles into new plastic bottles and products, for all its liquid and pump soaps, and has done for more than a decade.
- Sustainable sister company Serendipalm in Ghana has become the world’s most respected fair trade and organic palm oil project, working exclusively with smallholder farmers. This means that palm oil used in Dr Bronner’s soap bars does not cause new deforestation or endanger crucial habitats.
- Dr. Bronner’s has created or partnered with other fair trade and organic projects across the world, from Sri Lanka and Samoa for coconut oil, to Brazil for sugar. The company is also supporting the development of domestic fair trade schemes in North America.
The company aims to be “an engine to create positive change in the world, funding and fighting for the causes we believe in – regenerative agriculture, fair trade, hemp and drug policy reform, wage equality and animal welfare.”
The words of company founder Emanuel Bronner resonate here at greengreengreen, as they drive to the heart of why we established our own global environmental crusade:
“We are all one – or none.“
To try out the incredible Dr Bronner’s 18-in-1 Pure-Castile Soap, check out the full range here >>>