Jobs have all different kinds of requirements these days. For example: “must have five years’ experience,” or “must be fluent in Mandarin.” Clean 360, an artisan soap manufacturer in Oakland, requires all of its employees to be formerly incarcerated.
With high rates of recidivism among those who enter and exit the criminal justice system, employers willing to hire, train and work with former inmates to clear obstacles in their lives may be a key factor in keeping people out of the system long term.
Damian Bradley, one of the head soap makers at Clean 360, recently gave me a tour of their one-room factory. He points out large metal vats of natural oils (palm, avocado and jojoba), jars of additives like dried rose petals and orange peels, and rows of colorful soaps curing on shelves. For $3, you can buy a bar of vanilla lavender, lemon eucalyptus of their signature scent, cotton clouds. One hundred percent of the proceeds go back into the company.
At well over 6 feet and 200 pounds, Bradley is not who most people picture when they think of someone making all-natural, vegan, hand-crafted soaps. He didn’t picture himself in this line of work either.
Bradley grew up in a two-parent home in East Oakland. Even though he was encouraged to pursue his education, Bradley began selling drugs in the streets when he was 18. Bradley says he was in and out of jail for the next decade on drug charges and parole violations.