Photo: Marko Metzinger/Studio D

My association with Dr. Bronner's Pure Castille liquid soap ($6) has always been clean and straightforward. One eyeful of the completely recycled plastic bottles adorned with that minute, hysterical text, and I'm frothing with memories of Birkenstocks, patchouli oil, and the Grateful Dead. (Not one of which, I'm quick to add, was a favorite; I preferred clogs, Chantilly, and Traffic.) So when a bottle of Dr. Bronner's new Citrus Orange scented soap was sent to us at the office, it was with only a casual interest that I picked it up and took it home.

Guess who was happily humming "Sugar Magnolia" in the shower the next morning? No, not me: I was too busy inhaling the sweet, fresh scent of orange and lemon with a twist of lime, marveling at the rich, copious suds, and wondering how I'd been missing out on all the magic.

Today Michael and David Bronner, the doctor's grandsons, run the family-owned company, which celebrated its 60th anniversary this year. Its 1960s idealism endures; all Dr. Bronner products are now certified Fair Trade, and they use no synthetic foaming agents or preservatives. Far out, man.