Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, headquartered in Vista, California, introduced the world's first organic soap. The company operates on six cosmic principles: Work hard! Grow! Do right by customers! Treat employees like family! Be fair to suppliers! Treat the earth like home! and Fund & Fight for what's right! These six principles guide the company in everything it does..."from soapmaking to peacemaking." But living up to these principles can sometimes lead to scrappy outcomes. For example, CEO David Bronner sued the Drug Enforcement Agency in 2004 for banning the hemp oil he had added to his soaps to make them smooth and won. He sued rivals Kiss My Face and Avalon Organics for false claims of organic advertising. He grew his own crops when he could not find satisfactory fair-trade and certified-organic sources. He refused to let Walmart carry his products because of its low employee wages. He capped his salary at five times the lowest-paid employee's salary-and makes about $200,000 a year as CEO of a $64 million company. In addition, he shows up at music events driving a psychedelically painted soap spewing fire truck.

For a company that is so devoted to ethical business on social, environmental, and other fronts, Dr. Bronner appears to have been involved in multiple lawsuits, including some against competitors. Is this a contradiction?