.
Lever, like many Victorians, wanted his workers to share
in his wealth which they had helped create. The squalor of the slums in
which most workers lived appalled him and his guiding philosophy was that
all men could improve themselves given a fair chance, in decent conditions.
Tired of paying heavy port dues for his exports and rent for his factory
buildings, he decided to buy a site and build his own factory, with port
access and decent housing for his workers at reasonable rents. He would
provide them with schools, library, institutes and public buildings which
they could use to improve themselves as he had done. In return, they were
to prove themselves worthy of all this by following a life of sobriety,
thrift and the desire for self-improvement. So was founded Port Sunlight,
a model village "neat and cheerful" which fulfilled Lever's desire to
share his profits with his workers and combined with his interests in
housing reform. (note 2)