By Shivank Taksali
Soapbox, a social enterprise founded in 2010, is on a mission to make quality hygiene accessible to everyone through smart everyday purchases. David Simnick, the founder of Soapbox, created his first batch of soap from the kitchen of his university dorm. Less than a decade later, his company has made close to three million donations through their buy-one-give-one model and have partnered with retailers across the United States. Dave has ingrained sustainability into Soapbox’s core business model since he realized the detrimental effects that stem from neglecting the impact on local communities. The Soapbox model works to empower local soap makers as opposed to merely giving away bars of soap which could actually threaten their businesses and livelihoods.
In 2011, Soapbox made its first international product donation thanks to their partnership with a local foundation in Kenya. Recently, the enterprise achieved the milestone of the one-millionth donation of bars of soap, clean water, and vitamins supported by their aid partner Sundara in India. Each purchase of a SoapBox product is paired with proper hygiene lessons to someone in need either state-side or overseas. With the support of nonprofit partners, Soapbox has facilitated the teaching of 6,000 hygiene lessons to help reduce trachoma, a bacterial eye infection which is considered a public health problem in 37 countries and the reason for visual impairment of about 1.9 million people worldwide.
For more information about Soapbox and it’s business model, visit the company’s website here.
