The
company
that
makes
Dr.
Bronner's
Magic
Soaps,
a
counterculture
staple,
sued
many
of
its
personal
care
competitors
Monday
over
the
validity
of
their
organic
labels
as
the
once-quiet
"green"
cosmetic
sector
has
soared
in
popularity,
luring
several
Wall
Street
corporations
into
the
field.
AUDIO
SLIDESHOW:
Can
economic
cooperation
with
olive
growers
aid
efforts
at
peaceful
co-existence
between
Palestinians
and
Israelis?
Sam
Eaton
reports.
Popular 'green' products test positive for toxicant
By Marla Cone, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
New tests of 100 "natural" and "organic" soaps, shampoos and other consumer products show that nearly half of them contained a cancer-causing chemical that is a byproduct of petrochemicals used in manufacturing.
You’ve bought their soap at your local co-op for years. You’ve read the words of wisdom on the outside of their bottles and wondered about the eccentricities behind the label. Here’s your chance to find out.
HUNDREDS of soaps, shampoos and skin creams call themselves organic, but their labels have long been confusing, even misleading. A moisturizing cream might be made with organic kiwi, strawberries, jojoba oil and aloe vera, but then mixed with synthetic preservatives. No government agency checked whether the ingredients were truly organic.
It’s
not
just
anyone
who
will
stand
up
in
front
of
a
classroom
full
of
jaded
high
school
kids,
strap
on
an
acoustic
guitar
and
ask
the
stone
faces
to
sing
along
to
an
improvised
tune
about
llamas,
turtles
and
hippos.
But
there
is
a
kernel
of
that
idea
–
believe
in
yourself
and
you
can
get
anything
done
–
in
Ralph
Bronner’s
messages.
Plenty
of
business
leaders
and
professors
have
told
Cally
Boman-Dunham
’02
about
the
importance
of
running
an
ethical,
employee-oriented
company.
But
the
international
relations
and
business
major
has
never
been
particularly
inspired
by
those
messages.
“Lots
of
people
talk
about
the
concept
of
business
ethics
–
about
treating
people
well
and
treating
the
environment
well,”
Boman-Dunham
said.
“But,
I’ve
never
really
seen
people
that
have
actually
done
those
things.
They
just
talk.”
Dr.
Bronner’s
eccentric
philosophy
of
peace,
love
and
cleanliness
finally
wins
over
the
most
important
convert:
his
son.
“DON’T
BE
SMART,
RALPH.”
To
quote
his
father,
Ralph
Bronner
raised
his
voice
to
the
high
volume
at
white
Emanuel
Bronner
usually
spoke.
Editor’s
Note:
The
following
is
the
second
of
two
articles
about
Dr.
Bronner’s
Soap.
The
first
article
appeared
in
our
last
newsletter
and
told
the
amazingly
unique
story
of
how
Dr.
Bronner’s
Soap
came
to
be
–
as
told
by
son
Ralph
Bronner.
In
this
article,
as
promised,
younger
son
and
president
of
the
multimillion
dollar
company
Jim
Bronner,
shares
some
of
his
family’s
business
philosophy
and
insider
tips.
