"Green manufacturing"--What exactly does that mean? 

It's about choices in manufacturing methods that support and sustain a renewable way of producing products and/or services that do no harm to you or the environment. 

On an almost daily basis, we hear evidence of large-scale energy-glut manufacturing, careless disposal of waste, and newly identified toxins all around us. We tend to think it's a "Big Company problem"...right? But even the smallest of us impacts each other and the environment.  Toxic hazards walk hand-in-hand with everyday household products & foods that we have grown accustomed to choosing and using, often out-of-habit.  We don't always have time, or take time, to learn more, read fine print, decipher complex ingredients, seek alternatives.  Sometimes it's as simple as not "wanting" to give up a favorite synthetic fragrance we've grown up with or attached to, thinking "It can't be THAT bad!" .  The word "natural" has become an over-used and inaccurately-used BUZZWORD in today's marketing; it's practically lost all value.

Latest reports in industry trade magazines cite an increasing concern by even the largest manufacturers that chemicals in personal care products and their long-term effects are raising serious human toxicity and environmental dangers. A comment in January 2004's Happi Magazine (personal care market trade publication), an article, A Green Machine states "Many times, because of extensive use, we assume a product is safe.  But any chemical ingredient warrants a closer look, no matter how long it's been on the market. We need to ask ourselves whether we should be careful of using such ingredients on a daily basis, and if necessary, we should explore other options for our customers. The bottom line is that both retailers and consumers are looking for less harsh, safer, more natural products.  It's not a fad; it's an everyday occurrence. It's not just a trend anymore."

 Every person's sensitivity response to potential toxins is different.  But you can read for yourself, the FDA's authority to regulate the personal care industry is limited: See FDA AUTHORITY OVER SOAP and  FDA AUTHORITY OVER COSMETICS Hidden (or not listed as ingredients) toxins can build up in our body's systems and not manifest themselves as symptoms, until you are measurably sick.  The same is true for the environment.  With product purchases, do the collective "we" consider the after-life of the ingredients in that product? 

You have choices. Once you begin making safer choices, it's actually quite interesting and easy to adapt to your life, home, and workplace!  As consumers, we must insist on informed choice by way of full-disclosure ingredients labels. The move to true "natural" is gaining huge momentum...not just in ingredient choices, but in methods of manufacturing!  We understand that this is evolutionary, will not occur overnight.  Education is key.  But we all need to start somewhere.....baby steps!

At Simply Soap, we're taking steps to stay as informed as we can about the environment and potentially "hidden toxins" so we can help you make informed choices, yet not succumb to polarizing media coverage or urban myths that can trip hysterical response often associated with environmentalism.

 In our own manufacturing, some things we do to "manufacture green" are:

We use natural raw ingredients, including organics (when organic pricing allows), as much as possible for a biodegradable product.

We do not use hazardous chemical conditioners, chemical anti-bacterials (such as Triclosan) or chemical preservatives (such as EDTA or parabens) in any of our products that could eventually end up in waste systems and our environment.

We use no Lake Colors.  Most of our soap colorants are either botanically-derived, spices, clays, or Earth-mined pigments, or cosmetic-grade micas.

Our soap is produced in the "cold process" method, which means that the natural chemical reaction between the water-lye solution and the melted vegetable/fruit oils creates it's own heat ...so no additional supplementary heat is required to "cook" the soap.  This is energy-efficient, reducing energy consumption.

Our soap production involves no animal testing or animal ingredients, other than two soap varieties that contain milk and/or honey (Cleo's Secret-milk & honey, Goatmeal Butter Bar - goat milk). Animals are not killed to obtain these ingredients  We also obtain our raw ingredients from suppliers who certifiably do not test on animals.

We purchase our sodium hydroxide (lye) in minimal quantities, just what we need per each month to stock on-site, and we store it in a manner consistent with City regulations and in a moisture-proof manner so that leaks into the environment are impossible

No lye (sodium hydroxide) is dumped into our water or waste systems.  Equipment we use in making our soap, following production, is allowed to sit 24 hours while raw soap is still on it, until fully saponified (becomes lye-free).  This (now) soap residue is wiped out of soap pots with reusable cotton cloths (rather than paper towels produced from trees) and are laundered as biodegradable soap.  The now chemical-free soapmaking pots only require a light cleaning. We maintain equipment purity standards, yet minimize excessive water usage, and we do not allow raw chemicals to run down the drain.

We package our soaps and products in recyclable materials.  Our labels our recycled paper.  We also ship our products in recyclable materials and re-use packaging materials sent to us in cardboard boxes, paper shredding, & re-circulated packing noodles.  We encourage you to re-use these materials, too!

Our workshop clean-up products (de-greasers and surface cleaning sprays) are products we make ourselves out of all-natural ingredients!

We continue to expand our 100% natural soap line (synthetic fragrance-free) and unique natural scent blends!  Synthetic fragrances are FDA-approved for soap manufacture.  But growing evidence suggests that while synthetically-created fragrances fill a scent-adoring public's appetite for perfume (and generate a multi-billion dollar industry internationally), these chemically-created substances, usually petroleum derivatives, are suspect of harming us and the environment.  Scent has been with us for hundreds of years...but originally perfumes and aromatics were only all-naturally created.  We can return to that again!  We encourage you to try and choose "100%-natural", and enjoy the exquisite natural aromas that pure essential oil scenting offers in soap for a 100% natural experience! See our All-Natural Soap Collection!  We understand that giving-up synthetic fragrance can be difficult for some--we've loved fragrances, too!  We invite you to look at some DATA worth considering.  The choice for a wonderful world of natural scent awaits you!  Come try it!  

Below are links to articles and info. on green manufacturing practices in the home as well as in business!  We invite you to explore these ideas!              

See our page of data links on fragrances and other questionable ingredients in the personal care product market.

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