Dr. Bronner's
Multipurpose soaps and personal care that are vegan and cruelty-free
Dr. Bronner's' Sustainability Rating:
Materials
Slow Consumption
Accountability
Our ratings are based on a scale from 1 (harmful) to 5 (best). How we rate →
Good
Dr. Bronner's has a Good rating because it intentionally minimizes resource use and environmentally harmful ingredients.
Dr. Bronner's has committed to prioritizing organic and bio-based ingredients and avoiding some ingredients that pose a threat to the climate, such as uncertified palm oil. It uses concentrated formulas for all of its cleaning products, which reduces its shipping emissions and helps minimize packaging. The brand has also made efforts to reduce its packaging plastic use and waste and its packaging includes 100% recycled plastic. It encourages reusing its containers and offers lower-waste refills for most of its products, which helps avoid excess packaging.
Detailed Summary
Materials
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Ingredients
Dr. Bronner's has made ingredient commitments to lower its environmental impact, including by using organic and bio-based ingredients and sourcing organic and fair trade palm oil. It hasn't made specific commitments to avoid climate-threatening elements like parabens, phthalates, or PFAs, but Commons didn't find evidence of these in its products. It uses a majority of fair trade materials and carries products that have certifications from: Leaping Bunny, EWG Verified, Regenerative Organic, USDA Organic, Fair for Life, Vegan Action, OK Kosher.
Containers & Packaging
Dr. Bronner's offers all of its products in a concentrated format, which reduces shipping emissions and minimizes packaging use. It has made efforts to minimize the amount of material used in both its product containers and shipping materials by lightweighting packaging and increasing reusability. It uses 100% recycled plastic and FSC-certified materials in its product containers, and its shipping packaging includes 100% recycled cardboard.
Energy & Water Use
Dr. Bronner's shares some information on its energy strategy. It uses some solar energy in its production and its corporate offices are 100% powered by renewables. It doesn't share information on energy efficiency projects or its targets for expanding use of renewable energy. It implements water efficiency measures to reduce water use but doesn't specify the initiatives involved.
Slow Consumption
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Refill & Reuse
Dr. Bronner's enables and encourages reusing its product containers. It offers bulk sizes or low-waste refill options for most products.
Slow Cleaning
Dr. Bronner's offers an evergreen collection, which helps prevent production of excess inventory.
Marketing
Commons is still evaluating this brand's marketing emails.
Accountability
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Transparency & Reporting
Dr. Bronner's has a prominent sustainability page with comprehensive details on its climate strategy. It publishes annual reports with limited information on initiatives and impact. It shares a complete list of ingredients used in its products, on a per product basis.
Emissions Tracking
Dr. Bronner's internally measures and publicly reports its company-level emissions and includes a breakdown by scope. In 2023, its estimated emissions footprint was 73,709 tons CO2e.
Targets & Offsets
Commons couldn't find emissions reduction targets for this brand. Commons couldn't find evidence that this brand offsets any emissions.
Supply Chain & Labor
Dr. Bronner's pubishes information about only its Tier 4 supply chain partners, disclosing their geographic locations. It doesn't publicly share a supplier code of conduct but reports having Fairtrade labor certifications within its supply chain.
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