Singles, couples, and small families predominantly shop at Trader Joes’. They have fair prices. Most of the items sold are small package sizes. They are not like BJ, Costco or Sam’s Club, and do not target large families or bulk buyers. 

According to Business Insider as of September 2021, “Trader Joe’s average customer is a married person in an urban area who is 25 to 44 years old and earning $80,000”. Although I am not married nor do I currently earn that much, I still shop there. 

Trader Joes’ competitors are grocery stores like WEIS, Fairway and Whole Foods, of which are large chains. (www.comparably.com/companies/trader-joes/competitors  |  craft.co/trader-joes/competitors)  Trader Joe ‘s is not a health food chain, although most think it is, because it supplies a large amount of organic options in its stores. Whole Foods Market is associated with being natural and organic. The biggest difference in all 3 companies is that Trader Joes is privately owned, Weis is public and Whole Foods is a subsidiary. Subsidiary means a daughter company, or a company owned or controlled by another. In this particular case Whole Foods was bought by Amazon, and Fairway is under Wakefern Food Corporation. I researched Wakefern because I was unaware of what they did. Turns out they are the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the US. They pride themselves on helping small businesses and are a team of 50 member companies who independently own and operate supermarkets (www2.wakefern.com/).   

I was actually underwhelmed by the section they had for cleaning and bathroom products. I shouldn’t be surprised that every trip to Trader Joes’ I see different products stocked on the shelves. At first glance, shelf impact there were four shelves dedicated to soap. Two rows were bar soap and two were liquid (not shown). When I took a closer look, only 4 of the bars were soap. The packaging with a mermaid on it is shampoo. As a side note, when I got home after shopping I researched bar shampoo more. Turns out it’s a new trend. I also give some credit to Trader Joes for creating the soap box in products that are made from FSC-certified forests, recycled materials and controlled wood. It may be hard to notice from the image but there are two primary packaging. The Mermaid Shampoo bar has a top box and a bottom box (www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/068069).

I also noticed how deep the shelf was and the amount of space above the products, followed by color. My focus went to Dr. Bronner’s soap because of the bright royal blue. Center and placed next to Dr. Bronner’s was an Oatmeal Exfoliant that also used a bright blue. Personally, the Oatmeal Exfoliant is my favorite, based on appearance, simple, not overpowering design with clear information. For me there were two negatives to Dr. Bronner’s. It felt overwhelming, text heavy and I was not sure if all the information was needed but it felt like the words became the graphics. Both Dr. Bronner’s and The Oatmeal Exfoliant are printed on paper. You can not see what the soap looks like. The packaging is selling. Whereas the Oatmeal Honey on the left of the image is wrapped in a clear plastic. Maybe their target audience was people who do not like texture in their soap. The ability to see it means they don’t have to describe it on the packaging. Similarly the lavender soap above the Oatmeal Honey, was also in clear packaging. The most obvious difference besides color and scent is the texture in the lavender soap. The label also states triple milled which reinforces texture. 

www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/048065 

ALMOND GINGER SCENT OATMEAL EXFOLIANT BAR

This product is $2.99. It launched in January of 2002. At first the packaging was plastic and the soap bar was made in the US with French techniques. Since then Trader Joes has upgraded their packaging to sustainable, gift-worthy, kraft paper and now the soap is being made directly in France. 

The French have a specific way to make soap called the French Milling Process, also known as the Triple Milled French Soap (www.naturalfrenchsoap.com/blog/what-is-french-triple-milled-soap). The process has been around since the 18th century. It involves shredding cold-processed soap, running it through three or more rollers to press it, resulting in harder texture and longer lasting. This bar has bits of colloidal oatmeal which provide the exfoliation. According to their site all health and beauty products have never been tested on animals. I do love this, but I WOULD not know this from the label itself. Only from additional research.

I like the overall appearance and the experience the soap brings you. Although I am not against products being made in the US. I think the graphics reinforce the soap being from France. I did research and learned Kraft paper is naturally biodegradable. Kraft paper can be broken down into cellulose fibers that naturally can be absorbed by the environment without a negative environmental impact (www.conserve-energy-future.com/is-kraft-paper-recyclable.php). Some industries are composting their natural packaging Kraft paper. I am not sure if the ink used to print on the kraft paper means it now is not biodegradable. BUT moving forward Trader Joes can implement ink from vegetables. 

shop.drbronner.com/collections/all/products/peppermint-pure-castile-bar-soap 

ALMOND GINGER SCENT OATMEAL EXFOLIANT BAR

This soap is Dr. Bronner’s most popular scent. It is the fragrance of peppermint. It costs $3.79 at Trader Joes which is more than than their Ginger Oatmeal Exfoliant bar. When I went on the Dr. Bronner’s website says it coats $4.79 but is currently reduced to $4.07. 

I wonder If I was in the store on an empty day or if Trader Joe’s only sells peppermint. Dr. Bronner’s soaps are all hemp based. Besides peppermint they have additional bar soap scents – hemp baby unscented, lavender, almond, citrus, tea tree, rose and eucalyptus. 

What I like about their website is that when you read the product it tells you exactly what they are about, for example: organic U.S.-grown hemp oil for a soft, smooth lather that won’t dry your skin. Biodegradable in a 100% post-consumer recycled wrapper. 

The company prides themselves on their cosmic principles 1. Work hard as an overall company, 2. Do right by customers –  highest standards for ecological and social sustainability while making sure consumers are not misled and where organic standards are applied to body care just as they are to food, 3. Treat employees like family, 4. Build fair relationships with organic farmers, 5. Not to harm land, people or animals in the making of their product because they treat earth like home and finally, 6.They call themselves the “fighting soap community” because they want to regenerate agriculture, include fair trade, animal advocacy, industrial hemp, drug policy reform, living wages and other community organizations. 

As I read some specifics to the things mentioned above I found their packaging information. They do use plastic for some of their bottles but they use 100% post-consumer recycled plastic packaging, bottle-to-bottle recycling and local recycling which reduces bottles shipped overseas = fewer greenhouse gas emissions! Recycling one ton of PET containers saves 7.4 cubic yards of landfill space! Another great thing about this company is they mention keeping track of the plastic industry and already are keeping track of innovative ideas like bio-plastics. Bio-plastics use renewable resources like plants and bacteria to create plastic that would otherwise be produced from petroleum. This technology is still in its early stages.  

traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/050130 

COCONUT BODY BUTTER 

Trader Joe’s Coconut Body Butter is $5.49 for 8oz. It is not soap but it was displayed in the area next to the soaps. Trader Joe’s Coconut Body Butter was introduced way back in 2012. Their website says It absorbs into your skin very quickly, and doesn’t leave it feeling oily. This particular blend of ingredients is beneficial for all skin types, including if you have eczema or dry skin, or you just like to keep your skin feeling soft and fresh. 

When I got home I wanted to research the product for myself. In doing so I found this article: 

realsimple.com/beauty-fashion/skincare/bath-body/body-moisturizers/trader-joes-brazilian-cream 

Trader Joe’s Brazil Nut Body Butter $6, also known amongst internet fans as Trader Joe’s Bum Bum Cream. According to the article I read about the Trader Joe’s product the base is shea butter and coconut oil which they claim is uber-hydrating and leaves your body feeling silky smooth. It also has antioxidant benefits from açaí and guarana extract, along with fatty acids, phytosterols, and polyphenols that visibly restore skin’s elasticity in just a few applications. 

I tried to search for Brazil Nut Butter on Trader Joe’s website and could only find the Coconut Body Butter. According to an article I read it said Trader Joe’s, Brazil Nut Body Butter is only available for a limited time.

They say a difference is Trader Joe’s version does not smell as strong and does not last as long as the Sol de Janeiro. Other than that Trader Joe’s price is cheaper than Sol de Janeiro but it is also a smaller amount. 

Both are what inspired me to look into SOL de Janeiro. I discovered SOL de Janeiro does not have bar soap. 

Step 1 – Discover

The soap section is positioned horizontally (like many located in grocery store settings). The bars are vertically facing and piled up to simulate a wall of sorts. Some bars are stacked haphazardly in spaces that weren’t made for them, resulting in a sloppy, cheap look.

The brand “Dove” stands out in a very soft, understated way. It’s pink (typical Dove bar is pictured next to it in characteristic blue). The pink color theme helps it to stand out from the competitors. You’ll see that “Zest” really blends into the “soap scenario”. The packaging is blue (or a variation thereof) and is immediately (like Dove) recognizable from a distance.

In terms of recyclability, reusability, sustainability, and biodegradability nothing could be gleaned from these products except that none of these concerns was evident in the obvious packaging.

Upon further research, it was found that there was very little information from Zest regarding sustainable packaging, however they position themselves as the “sustainable choice” based on the following factors:

• It uses less plastic compared to body wash
• It uses les energy to manufacture than body wash
• It uses less water than body wash

There are more, but all of them share one common characteristic: Zest bar soap positions itself as an environmentally desirable alternative to body wash (exclusively), but NOT against other bar soaps.