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BEFORE YOU BEGIN
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The Young
Entrenpeneur
William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, is best known for building a soap empire in the late 1880s.
You are about to enter the world of an industrialist, visionary, and architect of a carefully constructed reality. This experience explores the ideas, ambitions, and contradictions that shaped his empire.
Enacting on natural entrepreneurial spirit, Leverhulme recognised the benefits of an ever-changing industrial world.
Factories allowed seemingly limitless efficiency. Therefore, a mass-produced soap could be seen by the public as reliable and affordable.
Archive video showing the process of making soap at the Port Sunlight factory. Good insight into Leverhulme's thorough methods, which aid in building up public trust.
the leverhulme experience
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sunlight soap is born
The catchy name sunlight soap was the name that he decided on. baking bright and optimistic imagery into the Brand's inception.
The artwork on the boxes is striking yet intentional. Lever was ahead of his time in understanding consumer behaviour. Turning soap into a branded product was the first step. He did not stop there, however, he delved into the psychology of potential buyers. Appealing to women as he understood that they were his primary market.
The company has now evolved into the modern Corporate giant unilever.
Unilever products are used by
3.4 to 3.7 billion people daily across 190 countries.
Port Sunlight
Port Sunlight was built in 1888 to house the workers of Lever's soap factory.
A utopia?
At first glance, the construction of such a beautiful village for his workers definitely feels romantic and philanthropic. However, the undertone of soft power and control loomed over the heads of residents.
Behaviour, cleanliness and even morality of residents were all monitored closely and had to be held up to the standards which Leverhulme demanded.
A mask of prosperity , a reality of control
This technique created a veil of gratitude over Leverhulme and the sunlight soap. Along with flaws going unquestioned by the public.
The more wealth that Leverhulme amassed, the more disconnected from the regular person he became.
This led to a belief that society and the individual could be designed, improved, and guided from above. These god-like visions were common amongst industrialists of the era.
The grim reality that underpinned Leverhulme's empire was his dark ventures in the Congo.
Leverhulme's success was only possible due to his extraction of Congolese resources and coercive, cruel treatment of its people.
The people subjected to his plans were often forced to meet quotas or face punishments such as violence or exile.
Many other failed endeavours followed. Boom towns, such as Leverburgh, were hastily erected and abandoned almost as fast.
This left local populations in ruin as all surrounding resources, such as cattle and crops, had been extracted and transported to the next.
The people who were living under such oppression revolted frequently in attempt to reclaim land and freedom which would often end in violent conclusions on both sides.
exploitation
Most of the raw materials, such as palm oils, that arrived at the dock were imported from Congo, following these exploitative practices.
In England, little was acknowledged of it.
In Congo, it could not be ignored...
30,000 mourners
Lever died at age 73 in 1925 of pneumonia after returning from a trip in Africa.
Revered by locals, his funeral garnered an attendance of 30,000 people.
Leverhulme's legacy is one of contested opinion.
Whilst the beauty that he created is acknowledged
The cost of it demands the same....
"My happiness is my business".
"Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, and the trouble is I don't know which half".
"There can be no reason why man should not make towns liveable and healthy... just as much subject to the beneficent influence of bright sunshine, fresh air, flowers, and plants, as the country."
"One can go to places like the Congo, and organize, organize, organize, well, very big things indeed. But I don't work at business only for the sake of money. I am not a lover of money as money and never have been. I work at business because business is life. It enables me to do things."
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