Shock Therapy To Peppermint Soap

Before Dr Bronner’s liquid soap made its debut in America, its humble beginnings can be traced back to Laupheim, Germany. It was there in the Jewish quarter, in 1858, that Emmanuel Heilbronner received the Certificate of Soap-Manufacture and began the production of soaps and candles in the home basement.

By the 1880’s, the Heilbronners’ had created the first liquid castile soap and began to supply Germany’s public washrooms. In the early 1890’s a larger soap making factory opened in Heilbronn, Germany. By this time, Emmanuel’s three sons, including Berthold who was the youngest, had taken over operations of the family’s soap manufacturing business.

Emil (Emanuel) Heilbronner was born to Berthold and Franciska, in 1908, the only male heir of the three Heilbronner brothers. He had two sisters, Luise and Lottie, who were born two and ten years later. As tradition of the time dictated, Emil began his apprenticeship with another soap-making family in the early 1920’s. He followed that apprenticeship with attendance at the guild system’s trade school where he received a Soap Making Master certificate. He then attended the University and received a degree in chemistry.

By 1929, Emil headed to the United States. This did not happen before he had numerous disagreements with his father and uncles over ideas to modernize soap making techniques. Coupled with his strong personality and political ideals, he embarked upon the great American dream.

During the 1930’s Emil worked with several chemical and soap specialty manufacturers, primarily in product development and factory design. With the rise of Hitler, he drops “Heil” from the Heilbronner name. He marries his first wife Paula and three children are born to them, Ellen (1934), Ralph (1936), and Jim (1938).

Starting in 1938, Emil’s two sisters begant to encourage their parents to leave Germany. Emil joined in the effort, but they were unsucessful. Hitler’s Germany nationalized the Heilbronn soap factory in the early 1940’s, deporting his parents to the death camps where they lost their lives. Death struck again when, in 1944, his wife Paula became ill and was hospitalized before passing away.

It was around this time that Bronner adopted the honorary “Dr.” title out of respect toward his university degree, regardless that he never received a doctorate. He became even more vocal and intense in his political activism and set out to encourage political leaders of his era, including Roosevelt and Eisenhower, to pursue a path of world peace, regardless of faith and ethnic tradition. While addressing these issues, he also spoke out against communism and fascism, becoming so involved in his political cause that his children ended up being raised in foster homes.

Gaining fame or notoriety, depending on one’s point of view, Dr. Bronner was arrested in 1947 while speaking without a permit at the University of Chicago. He was institutionalized at the Elgin State Insane Asylum located just outside of Chicago. It was there that he was introduced to an absurd system of mental health treatments including forced labor and electric shock. Several months later he escaped and made it out to Los Angeles.

The forerunner to the current Dr. Bronner’s product line was the liquid peppermint soap that he began manufacturing in 1948, accompanied by a line of health food seasonings.  

By the 1950‘s Dr. Bronner was again expressing his beliefs, this time with lectures  in LA’s Pershing Square, selling the peppermint scented soap on the side.  Soon he has more soap customers than he does a political audience, so he begins producing soap labels with his political philosophies printed on them. 

Dr. Bronner’s sons, Ralph and Jim, worked periodically with their father during this period.  Ralph helped with labels and messages and Jim was involved in production.   

By the 1960’s the soap has gained popularity with a younger, activist oriented audience who not only enjoyed the soap’s cleansing qualities, but the peace promoting quotes on the bottle labels.  Dr. Bronner’s began to enjoy some success thanks to a great word-of-mouth advertising campaign.  

As the soaps continued to enjoy success, the health movement of the ’80’s really set the tone for today’s product line. Dr. Bronner’s soaps find their way into the growing number of health food stores in the U.S. That success was followed by introduction of the product line into mainstream America.

After a battle with Parkinson’s, Dr. Bronner passed away in 1997, leaving his sons Ralph and Jim and Jim’s wife trudy in control of the company.

Today’s product line consists of liquid and bar soaps, lotions, conditioners, lip balms, shaving gels, body balms, hand and body soaps, and a snack line, and enjoys a growing international audience. In 2003 Dr Bronner’s became the largest personal care company to become certified by National Organic Program, sponsored by the USDA.

With origins in a distant basement, this German soap making family has made its mark in the bath, shower and soap industry, transforming it in the process.