Soap Hope: All-natural soap to end global poverty

May 16, 2009: Doomsday. With a degree in public relations and an economic environment of fear and hiring freezes, I found it hard to have faith in finding a decent job in public relations and even less faith in a job that shared my vision for progressive change. Then along came a job at Soap Hope: a company with a deeply integrated social mission to end global poverty.

The first thing we learn as an introduction to PR at school is "Don't Lie." As a PR practitioner, I am well aware of the traps and narrow roads that challenge our paths as communicators. But at Soap Hope I have never once felt the need to lie or twist the truth. *Sigh of relief* It's nice to work for a social responsible company.

Serendipitously, Soap Hope brought hope to my career but more importantly it brings hope to women entrepreneurs locally and globally.

The founders, Salah Boukadoum and Craig Tiritilli, founded Soap Hope after selling their technology company. Taking a full pendulum swing in the other direction, not only in product and services but also in corporate culture. The two decided to found Soap Hope on a strong social mission to end global poverty. Soap Hope invests 100% of profits into anti-poverty organizations that provide microloans and business training for women entrepreneurs.

The social mission is based on the founder’s innovative business model called Good Returns, an innovative, sustainable paradigm in which businesses invest resources in non-profits that improve the lives of others and reciprocally the businesses benefit through returns on investments, increased community visibility and enhanced reputation. In this model a for-profit company simply delays dividends by one year in order to accomplish a positive social purpose.

Rather than donating a portion of a company’s profits to a charity, the Good Returns model engenders a cycle of mutually beneficial results.

In exchange, these nonprofits tell others about Soap Hope, helping to gain visibility in the market and giving customers a special reason to choose Soap Hope over other vendors. This completes the virtuous cycle of Good Returns.

Good Returns isn’t simply a charitable act, it is a sound business investment.

My days at Soap Hope are filled with cheery scents of the stacks and rows of all-natural soap in the adjacent room. Each day I leave smelling of lavender, geranium or some other flora or fauna. Each bar of soap represents money in a woman’s pocket, empowering her economic freedom. Giving back to the global community never smelled so good.

To learn more about the Good Returns model or to try some soap, connect with us at www.soaphope.com