Why your personal hygiene can help end poverty

We know it can put a stop to offensive odors, but can a bar of natural soap really help solve global destitution? Now here's a great way to give back this holiday season (you'll get that warm fuzzy feeling of when you've done a good deed combined with that warm fuzzy feeling you get when someone tells you you're positively glowing). Check out Soap Hope, a company that invests 100 percent of profits from personal care and beauty products into anti-poverty organizations that provide microloans and business training for women entrepreneurs. In return for the donations, the nonprofits spread the word about Soap Hope ... and you can too. Soap Hope offers shampoos and conditioners, lotions, and laundry detergent from natural companies, including A Wild Soap Bar, Hugo Naturals, Fraiche, Zum by Indigo Wild, and Pangea.