Soap & Soul By Lisa Bronner: Packed With Useful Green-Living Info With Hilarious Family Stories Woven Throughout – Must Read Book For 2024!

March 16, 2024 Hannah Moller 0 Book Reviews, Economy And Finances, Environment, Health

Learn more about Green Living, including how to ditch the toxic chemicals, from Lisa Bronner, of the Dr. Bronner’s Soap line.

Lisa Bronner’s Soap & Soul book is a must-read for anyone interested in learning more about green, sustainable living on an individual level, including how to replace the toxic chemicals we all take for granted in our environment with solutions that are actually safe. If you are wondering what I mean by this, she explains it well, and I will paraphrase.

To put it mildly, Americans believe that the government does significantly more than it actually does to protect consumers. Manufacturers of cosmetics, foods, supplements, and other products are not really regulated. A product can literally say nearly anything on the label, and there are no consequences if the statements are completely false. This is similar to professions where bad actors have given the profession as a whole a bad reputation. Some practitioners, however, seeking to set themselves apart, have sought additional education and certifications.

The consumer-level equivalent with regard to cosmetics, foods, and other goods is similar: external, non-required certifications from respected authorities in the field of certification. For example, a product says that it is plant-based, or even vegan. If it is not, there is very little liability held by the company. So, if an individual seeks out a certified vegan product, certified by an organization with a good reputation, that is the best way to be sure that you are getting what you think you are getting.

Add to this what the FDA does, for example, a few years back when they sent letters to manufacturers of the popular supplement N-Acetyl Cysteine saying that they needed to stop manufacturing it. Not because it has ever been shown to do harm, but because they determined that NAC had already been approved as a drug back in 1963, and thus could exclusively be sold as a drug and not a dietary supplement. However, in this instance (as with any drug or supplement patent), NAC was marketed long before this approval, and thus any patent would be invalidated.

From our previous article about the N-Acetyl-Cysteine warning letter and subsequent Amazon ban: “FDA has concluded that NAC products are excluded from the dietary supplement definition under section 201(ff)(3)(B)(i) of the Act [21 U.S.C. § 321(ff)(3)(B)(i)]. Under this provision, if an article (such as NAC) has been approved as a new drug under section 505 of the Act [21 U.S.C. § 355], then products containing that article are outside the definition of a dietary supplement, unless before such approval that article was marketed as a dietary supplement or as a food. NAC was approved as a new drug under section 505 of the Act [21 U.S.C. § 355] on September 14, 1963. FDA is not aware of any evidence that NAC was marketed as a dietary supplement or as a food prior to that date.”

It continues, “The Council on Responsible Nutrition is not waiting for the FDA to come around on its own. They have issued a Citizen’s Petition to the FDA demanding that it clarify its position on NAC immediately. Of course, for the FDA, “immediately” can be a very long time. However, the FDA is legally required to answer within 180 days, which would give retailers further clarification. However, these petitions are often ignored by FDA, or responded to in vague and unhelpful ways. ”

Realistically, though, when you think about it, the FDA would have to be a lot bigger than it is to police all or even a fraction of the products on the market. Many products are changed or updated frequently, and there aren’t enough agents to really enforce the laws and regulations that do exist, let alone making new regulations or enforcing more than they do.

However, the FDA does bring in a large sum of money from drug companies for approvals of drugs that are patent-eligible, as well as for fast-tracking of new or updated drugs that they are seeking to bring to market. This type of fast-tracking can run pharmaceutical companies millions of dollars (citation), so perhaps that money could be put to use. However, these issues also affect consumers’ ability to sue if they suffer from harmful effects from ingestion of household chemicals. As those familiar with poison control statistics are aware, this is a real problem, especially for children.

The Solution: “Green It Yourself!”

Or, make your own household cleaners. Lisa Bronner does quite a thorough job walking you through the steps to getting rid of those toxic cleaning chemicals, and replacing them with effective cleaning solutions you can generally find in your grocery store. Some of them involve Dr. Bronner’s castile soap, in its various forms and containing various scents. The most popular by far is the peppermint, according to Lisa. And if you have ever smelled it, you probably know why. It is a beautiful, refreshing scent.

Dr. Bronner’s in particular, goes beyond what many of their competitors do, in that they don’t hold back on certifications. There is even a certification that they helped pioneer, which is regenerative agriculture. What this certification means is that the production and manufacturing process of the finished product gives back more to the soil and the environment than it takes out. This is particularly important for crops where the reverse is usually the case. A perfect example is coconut.

Without even considering the animal-assisted harvesting of coconuts that occurs in a few places, growing and harvesting of coconuts is usually quite intensive, and is rarely sustainable. However, since they use coconut oil in most of their products, the company only buys from farmers that use regenerative techniques. This type of farming also involves sustainability for the farmers, in other words, a fair and liveable wage.

Very enjoyable, hilarious read

One thing I was not expecting when I read this book was for it to be so funny. I had never checked out Lisa’s Going Green blog, so I did not know she had such a sense of humor. She also helps you to feel like you are a part of the family. I learned a lot about the Bronner family, about which I knew nothing. I knew that there were spiritual messages on the bottles of the soap, but that was it. I learned how the company came to be, and how the next generation of soap makers was able to carry on the tradition despite great adversity.

The Bronner family patriarch, Emil Bronner, emigrated to America before the rise of Hitler in Germany. His siblings emigrated as well, but his parents refused to leave, despite several attempts by his family in America. When Hitler took power, and forced the family to sell their soap-making factory to a non-Jewish citizen, Lisa’s great-grandparents were taken to a concentration camp, where they died.

Emil Bronner also had a very odd life journey. When he emigrated to America, he was committed to a mental institution. They gave him electroshock therapy, after which he became legally blind. He had an indefatigable spirit, however, and had great faith in humanity. He would preach his message to people in his area, and he would give them a bottle of the soap he made at his house. Eventually, he decided to put the message on the soap bottles and sell them, to reach more people.

When the 1960s rolled around, his product found its audience: hippies and backpackers, After journeys of their own, eventually, the children of Dr. Bronner came to the company. Many changes have been made, but they have mostly been to make the products better. It was really interesting to learn about the twists and turns that eventually became what we know today as Dr. Bronner’s soap. As someone who has used their products for many years, it was really cool to learn how this company was able to continue successfully with the next generation. I wonder if it really is because they are spreading the beautiful message of peace, love, and our shared humanity,

Lest you think it’s all about their soap

Just in case you think this is just a really long advertisement for their soap, it is not at all like that. Many of the solutions use other natural, green products. Baking soda, vinegar, washing soda, and more also feature prominently among the green solutions.

She shows you the best way to clean things in every room, from the kitchen to the bathroom and everything in between. Bleach and other chemicals are spoken about, including the ways in which their toxicity can affect you or your pets, and what you should not combine when using green products. For example, Bronner’s soap can be used in the laundry machine, but you should not combine it with vinegar or bleach. She gives reasons and often links to scientific studies to back up the statements she makes. She offers handy charts that give you a quick reference guide to what not to combine, along with other useful tips and charts.

If you are interested in reducing your bills, all of the solutions she offers cost less than the traditional chemical solutions that you buy at the store And they are less toxic. She even tells you how to use Dr Bronner’s as shampoo, you just need to rinse it with an acid. I haven’t tried all of the solutions in the book, in particular the soap as shampoo advice, but most of the green solutions are very easy to implement for anyone.

This book is highly recommended, especially for beginners on the journey of green cleaning and removing toxic chemicals from their environment. It is very funny start to finish, and gives you lots of information, mostly scientifically based, about the solutions she offers. You’ll find it easy to live green, with only non-toxic chemicals around your kids, pets, and family. You will worry less because everything she discusses is much less toxic, or even non-toxic, when compared to what you can buy in the store.

This book is definitely a must-read.