Local Fairhope-based Business Owner Actively Supports Clean Water Alabama

Fairhope, Ala. (Dec. 7, 2021) – Clean Water Alabama (CWA) and Fairhope Soap Company have teamed up this holiday season to help clean up Alabama waterways.

Deborah Bruijn, owner of the local handmade soap boutique, said the store announces the launch of a limited release line of CWA soaps with $3.00 from the sale of every bar benefiting the water preservation group.

“Deborah has been an active member of CWA since its formation and we are so grateful for her support,” John Manelos, President of CWA said. “She is a doer in our community and a great example of a busy person using her talents and her business to help a cause she cares deeply about.”

Born in Indonesia to Italian parents, Bruijn immigrated to the U.S. as a child. She worked as a biochemist and a GMP Analytical Method Development Chemist in the pharmaceutical industry for 10 years before opening Fairhope Soap Company in 2013. She is a Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetics Guild Certified Advanced Soapmaker and a member of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists. She is an accomplished speaker, teaching the chemistry of Soapmaking and Cosmetic Chemistry, to handcrafters at conferences all around the country.

A mom of two, Bruijn said her love of nature and her commitment to preserving the Gulf Coast’s natural resources for future generations is what prompted her to get involved with Clean Water Alabama.

“My family has lived in Fairhope for 14 years and my kids can’t even swim in the bay because of the poor water conditions,” Bruijn said. “I hope that CWA’s work, particularly the legislative measures we’re focused on, will go a long way in ensuring that my grandchildren will be able to swim in our bay one day.”

Bruijn also said that with the growth Baldwin County is experiencing, mitigation efforts are more important now than ever.

“It’s like the story about the man walking along the beach filled with starfish and stopping to pick up one to throw it back in the water. He couldn’t save all of them, but he saved that one.” Bruijn said. “It’s the little steps we each take now that will contribute to the broader picture of saving our precious water resources for the next generation.”

In addition to contributing proceeds from the new line of soaps, Bruijn recently donated $1,250 to CWA from her winnings in a Fairhope Sunset Rotary Squares Game competition.

Photos (l-r): Check Donation by Deborah Bruijn to John Manelos for Clean Water Alabama; and Fairhope Soap Company – Clean Water Alabama soaps

“I know the most pressing need right now is financial when it comes to raising awareness,” Bruijn said. “That’s why I’m using the resources I have to help CWA. We each share the responsibility of doing something about this. Collectively we can make a difference in making our waterways cleaner and ensuring their preservation for generations to come.”

Enriched with shea and cocoa butter and made with a large portion of organic ingredients, the soaps come in four different scents, and each named for a clean body of water: Clean Lake, Clean Ocean, Clean River and Clean Bay. They are available for purchase at Fairhope Soap Company’s locations in downtown Fairhope and at OWA in Foley, as well as online at www.fairhopesoapcompany.com.

ABOUT CLEAN WATER ALABAMA

Clean Water Alabama is a non-profit organization whose mission is to engage the citizens of Alabama to take the necessary actions to ensure that our water resources (rivers, streams, lakes, bays, and coast) are protected from those items that make them unsafe to its citizens, and the plant and animal life that live within and around. For more information about Clean Water Alabama, visit CleanWaterAlabama.com.