Jaslyn Romero

Mr. Skipper

Encounters 7

March 5, 2023

William Colgate

“Everyone deserves a future to smile about” is the Colgate company motto. While William Colgate was making and trying new products. He landed on making toothpaste, which turned out well for his business. Colgate liked being in business and he was very observant about it. The Colgate company first started making toothpaste in 1873, but it was in a jar. In 1893, William Colgate started making toothpaste in a tube. Colgate made a toothpaste that was better than powder and that was also better than jar toothpaste and helped clean your teeth. Before toothpaste was in a jar, and before that, it was a powder that was called tooth powder and not toothpaste. Colgate company made a successful business that helped people all over the world with dental hygiene and a better way of selling toothpaste. William Colgate changed the way of toothpaste and that’s what helped his business grow.

William Colgate’s Early life:

Not much is known about William Colgate’s childhood. He was born on January 25, 1783, in Hollingbourne, Kent, England. His parents were Robert and his wife Sarah (Bowles) (“William Colgate”, Time Note).  William Colgate had two siblings, Bowles and Maria (“William Colgate”, NNDB). In 1798 when he was a teenager, William and his family immigrated to Maryland because of his father's sympathy for the American War of Independence (Challies). When they got to Maryland, Colgate helped his father in a soap and candle manufacturer (Challies). William Colgate was always interested in soap making. At the age of 19, William Colgate was able to produce soap for his business with the help of his aunt. Sadly his business failed and was unsuccessful. Even though he had to close down his business he was still determined to “make a success of soap making” (“The Story of William Colgate”).

Beginning of Career:

William Colgate went to New York to start a new business hoping that one day it would be successful. In Maryland, Colgate went into partnership with Ralph Maher to manufacture candles and soap. After two years of collaboration with Ralph Maher stopped. In 1804, Colgate moved to New York alone to get a new job and start a new life alone. William Colgate got a job and became a soap maker and learned more about business while working (Challies). Colgate learned new business materials and was always looking for new methods. He was always curious and looking at other employees, he was also learning new things by watching them. Colgate used the things he learned to help him later on when he had a business (“William Colgate”, Time Note). In 1806, Colgate got his own business, making candles, soap, and starch. Colgate’s business was first a small shop. Colgate's business, later on, became a giant corporation (Challies). In the second year of his business, William Colgate shared his business with Francis Smith, and together they took care of the company and named it “Smith and Colgate”. Colgate bought the whole company and wanted to be partners with his brother Bowles Colgate (“History of Colgate-Palmolive Company”). Years later in 1811, William Colgate got married to Mary Gilbert (Challies). Together Mary and William had 9 children (“William Colgate”, My Heritage). 

Significant Accomplishments:

  William Colgate and his company had many accomplishments and achievements throughout his lifetime. In 1817, he started to get into advertising and got into different newspapers which gave him more business and a bigger advantage to have an even bigger soap factory and gain him even more money (“William Colgate and His Soap and Candle Business”). In 1820, once William Colgate’s business took off and started becoming successful he went on and started a company in New Jersey that sold soap and starch. After the death of William Colgate in 1857 at the age of 74, his son Samuel Colgate took over the company and changed the name to Colgate & Company. In 1866, they started making new products like perfume and perfumed soap, but it soon ended because of a fire that destroyed the factory. Colgate & Company started manufacturing in Wisconsin (“History of Colgate-Palmolive Company”). In 1873 a few years later the company started selling toothpaste in a jar (“History of Colgate-Palmolive Company”). 20 years later in 1893, Colgate company started making and selling toothpaste in a tube (“William Colgate”, Nndb). By the year 1910, Colgate & Company moved their headquarters to Jersey City (“History of Colgate-Palmolive Company”). In 1928, a company called Palmolive-Peet Company bought Colgate and Company and decided to change the name to Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company (William Colgate and His Soap and Candle Business). The Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company started making business everywhere, eventually, with all the money they were gaining by 1939 they had made about 100 million dollars. In the 1940s and the 1950s, Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company was coming up with new strategies to buy smaller product companies and make them their own. 1947 was the year when Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company made their best-known products Fab detergent and Ajax cleanser which helped with their rivals the Procter & Gamble Company. They started selling detergent products all over the U. S and moved offices to New York City in 1956. In 1960, George H. Lesch was made president of Colgate making and selling many different products. By 1967, their sales went up to 1 billion dollars (“History of Colgate-Palmolive Company”).

Impact on the World:

William Colgate and his company positively impacted the world because of the suitable products and trying to help protect the environment. Colgate Company increased the number of people’s awareness of dental and oral health (“Colgate-Palmolive Commits to Sustainability and Social Impact”). In 2019, Colgate Company positively impacted the world and the environment by introducing a recyclable toothpaste tube, which was better for the world (“Colgate - Palmolive”). They made the tubes of toothpaste using the material people use for bottles (“Colgate-Palmolive Honored as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2021”). The Colgate company also is saving water by making the “turn off the tap” foundation which helps people use less water and conserve it (“Colgate - Palmolive”). The Colgate Company said that all they want is for the people to have a “healthier future” (“Colgate-Palmolive Commits to Sustainability and Social Impact”). The Company has also been recognized because “Colgate is among the top-ranked in the Social Good Category”(“Colgate-Palmolive Honored as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2021”). The Colgate Company also supports many programs that help the world. Colgate Company has donated more than 700,000 dollars to the Nature Conservancy, which helps forests and brings back clean water to lakes and rivers (“Colgate-Palmolive Company”). 

Lessons Learned From His Life-

William Colgate learned a lot throughout his life which helped him to have such a great business. When he was 19, Colgate made a soap business, but sadly it was a failure (“The Story of William Colgate”). Even though he failed at his first attempt he didn’t give up later. Colgate showed that if you're passionate about something you shouldn’t give up after one try. Back in 1804, when Colgate moved to New York he got a job as a soap maker (Challies). In his job, he would look around and see different methods and learn many things which helped him because they were useful lessons (“Baptist Cameos”). William Colgate showed to be very observant and liked to learn new things. Colgate also showed an observant personality, so at the age of 21 he saw how wasteful some candles were and wanted to improve them (“William Colgate and His Soap and Candle Business”). He showed that looking around and learning new things can be helpful in life and that being observant can be a good thing. William Colgate is a good person to look up to because he showed a lot of good personality traits and was shown to be pretty hard-working in his business.

  Works Cited

“Baptist Cameos.” The Reformed Reader, 1999, www.reformedreader.org/colgate.htm. 

Challies, Tim. “The Philanthropists: William Colgate.” Challies, 27 Oct 2013,  www.challies.com/articles/the-philanthropists-william-colgate/.

“Colgate-Palmolive Company.” The Nature Conservancy, www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/who-we-are/how-we-work/working-with-companies/cause-marketing/colgate-palmolive/. 

“Colgate-Palmolive.” The Climate Pledge, www.theclimatepledge.com/content/amazonclimatepledge/us/en/Signatories/colgate-palmolive.html#main-navigation. 

“Colgate-Palmolive Honored as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2021.” Colgate-Palmolive, 9 March 2021, www.colgatepalmolive.com/en-us/who-we-are/stori es/colgate-fast-company-innova tive-companies. 

 “History of Colgate-Palmolive Company.” Reference for Business (Company History Index),     www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/6/Colgate-Palmolive-Company.html/.  

Tracy, Ann. “Colgate-Palmolive Commits to Sustainability and Social Impact.” Colgate Palmolive, 25 April 2022, www.colgatepalmolive.com/en-us/who-we-are/stories/commitment-to-sustainability-and-social-impact. 

“The Story of William Colgate.” Uckg HelpCentre, www.uckg.org/the-story-of-william-colgate/#. 

“William Colgate and His Soap and Candle Business” PeoPlaid, July 4, 2020, peoplaid.com/2020/07/14/william-colgate-and-his-soap-and-candle-business/.

“William Colgate.” MyHeritage, 2022, www.myheritage.com/names/william_colgate.

 “William Colgate.” Nndb (Notable Names Database), 2019, www.nndb.com/people/333/000163841/bibliography/. 

“William Colgate.” Time Note, 2020, timenote.info/en/William-Colgate.