*By Bridgette Webb*
When personal-care company Schmidt's Naturals decided to expand its efforts to protect animals and the environment, it tapped a major ally of the cause: environmentalist and renowned chimpanzee expert Jane Goodall.
"She's been a family friend for a long time," Michael Cammarata, the company's co-founder and CEO, said Tuesday in an interview on Cheddar.
The pair created a deodorant inspired by one of Goodall's favorite floral scents, calling the special edition product "Lily of the Valley." Five percent of every purchase will go to the Jane Goodall Institute, which conducts field research at Tanzania's Gombe Stream National Park, runs a sanctuary for chimps, and facilitates community-centered conservation work around the globe.
According to Cammarata, Goodall is not only a friend to his company, but a trusted advisor.
"When we were debating options at the end of last year to go IPO or to sell ... Jane actually was one of the biggest supporters of us going with Unilever and expanding out globally. So I said, 'Jane, if I am going with Unilever then you have to come along and we've got to make every dollar count and make a positive impact.'"
Unilever ($UN) added Schmidt’s Naturals in December 2017 to its portfolio of consumer brands, which includes Dove, Axe, ice-cream brand Breyers and condiment-maker Hellmann’s.
Schmidt's Naturals operates with a larger mission to promote "mindful consumerism." Cammarata said he was initially concerned that Unilever may not honor that same commitment. But those fears eventually subsided.
"Unilever is actually promoting what we have done," Cammarata said. "We've now expanded globally."
Without Unilever, he added, "I think we would never have been able to do that at the speed we are doing now."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/schmidts-naturals-and-jane-goodall-partner-up).
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