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What is Natural?
Many products on the market today claim to be "natural." But what makes a product natural? Most people have a common-sense definition of what it is or should be. For example, natural to most means being able to pronounce all the ingredients and not needing a chemistry textbook to understand them. The definition of "Natural" is important. It sets apart socially responsible companies from the rest. Synthetic ingredients can be toxic, and usually cost less than natural ingredients giving the mass-marketed multinational corporations a competitive advantage. The big companies know that the natural product market is growing by 25% every year and consumers are demanding products that are healthier and better for the environment. These big corporations have jumped on the "natural" bandwagon and cranked up their marketing machines to benefit from green consumerism. Having a loose definition of natural is just what they want. Take a look at the supermarket shelves and you will see the multitude of "natural" claims. Their definition of natural includes manipulated and chemically altered ingredients. To them "natural" is just another marketing gimmick, not a way of life. With all of the bogus claims out there, how do we get consumers to realize Vermont Soapworks products are really natural?
Can any product claim to be natural?
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the watchdog for bogus environmental claims. The FTC's guidance does not address "natural" marketing claims specifically. However, the guidance includes a section on general environmental benefit claims that states, "every express and material implied claim that the general assertion conveys to reasonable consumers about an objective quality, feature or attribute of a product or service must be substantiated." With so many products on the market claiming to be natural and so few government resources to enforce bogus claims, it is up to consumers to identify what is truly natural. Consumers should carefully read product labels including ingredient lists and then vote for their definition of natural with their buying power!
Are Synthetics and chemical Ingredients safe?
Some ingredients in mass-marketed soap including Isopropyl Alcohol, DEA, artificial frnces, FD&C Colors, Propylene Glycol and Triclosan have been proven harmful to human health and can cause severe skin irritation in some people. These ingredients are not natural. Some companies will include a trace of truly natural ingredients in a product with some of the synthetic ingredients above and claim the product is natural. Bogus!
What natural means at Vermont Soapworks
What does "Natural" mean at Vermont Soapworks? It means no artificial colors and fragrances and no testing on animals. It means using Rosemary extract as a preservative, not a chemically-derived formula. Natural is about better choices and the responsibility inherent in those choices: organic before pesticides; botanicals before artificial colors and fragrances; vegetable-based before animal-based; and reusable before disposable. Natural is about big-picture thinking. It's about socially responsible business, looking at how we source, formulate and package and reuse or safely dispose of what's left. It's about the relationship between producer and consumer and the planet that we share. Natural cannot be codified like the ten commandments. It is about staying as close to the original form as possible. Natural is about developing an integrated long-term view of everything that we do.
NATURAL IS ABOUT THE FUTURE!
What is your definition of natural? Write us at natural@vermontsoap.com
A NATURAL EXPERIENCE
I was doing a presentation about our company to a business group when one of them approaches me madder than a hornet. He says, "I can't stand you guys running around saying you're natural and everyone else is not. I work for XYZ (multinational corporation) and everything we make is just as natural as what you do."
I check him out carefully. "You have some chemical or pharmaceutical background don't you?"
"I am a pharmacist," he replies, " I have a doctorate in chemistry and am corporate vice-president."
I say, "So with your scientific training, your perception is that everything's made from molecules, and molecules are found in nature. Therefore, everything is natural!
"Yes!" he says glowing, "Finally someone knows what I'm talking about."
"Botanical Essence Shampoo" (no botanicals, no essence) says it's natural because a base ingredient may even have been a coconut several molecular transformations ago, is that natural to you?"
"Certainly!" He exclaims, but stops smiling when he sees the look on my face.
"You guys use artificial colors and fragrances, right?" I quiz him. "You use preservatives and test on animals to hold down the lawsuits and your molecular source can be animal, vegetable, mineral or petroleum?"
"Certainly," he proclaims.
"There you have it! That's the difference between a natural company and the mass-market!" I follow his glance. Across the room a 16-year old is standing by the exit.
"Your daughter?" I ask.
He nods, "My only one. She could have any product we make, but what does she use?" He looks disdainfully at my display of handmade soaps, liquid soaps and nontoxic cleaners. "This stuff!"
Protecting the planet and your health comes down to important purchasing decisions.
What definition of natural do you support with your buying habits?
Article#2
Middlebury, VT – I had always been the canary in the coalmine. The first to react to chemical stuff in the environment, like when someone would enter an elevator wearing too much perfume causing me to cough and sneeze. Over time, my chemical sensitivity got increasingly worse and by 1985 I had developed a host of skin problems: Psoriasis on my wrists and ankles (like poison ivy); flaking "alligator skin" on my hands and elbows; and a red rash with little white bumps and irritation on my inner thighs and forearms. To top it off, my scalp started flaking!
As soon as I got out of the shower and dried off, I had to lunge for the body lotion or I would itch for hours. Missing a spot at night would wake me up. I kept a bottle on the night stand. I remember going through a dozen brands looking for a lotion that I would not react to! After years of this, and it got progressively worse as time went by, I began to suffer from bouts of depression during which I felt that there was something seriously wrong with me.
Soap Guinea Pig
Then the scientist in me took over. I began paying close attention to when my skin condition was worse, and when it was better. Clearly, any contact with soap products made things much worse. I became a soap guinea pig, testing every type of bar and liquid soap I could find. I begged friends going abroad to bring back an assortment of soaps for me to try. Nothing worked, at least for more than a few showers. I began washing my inner elbow area with a little soap as a test. The skin is very sensitive there - but it is less painful than a full body test!
The Cure Found Me
One day I stopped for lunch at a Country Fair here in Vermont. I was searching for an alternative to fast food, but I found something more fulfilling. One of the exhibitors was a couple of subsistence farmers selling their wares, including handmade bar soaps. The soaps weren't much to look at and they seemed expensive. The couple looked and smelled like they never used the stuff themselves! Chuckling to myself I walked away, and then forced myself to turn around and buy a bar. Carelessly, I put the soap in my pants pocket and forgot about it. The next morning I was just about to torture myself with another shower when I remembered the farm soap. Fishing it out from the laundry, I saw that it had mashed up and smelled vaguely like goat. Little did I know it was one of the most poorly made bars of handmade soap I would ever try!
Washing my forearm I winced, waiting for the inevitable sting and rash, but it never came. Instead my skin began to calm and soothe. I was astounded! If a poorly made bar of handmade soap could help my sensitive skin, what would a properly made one do? I sold everything and went into the soap business. That was in 1991, and I haven't looked back since.
Healing Soaps
After several years of experimenting on myself, here's what I have found. For sensitive dry skin use handmade soaps with aloe and oatmeal and light or no essential oil blends. For oily sensitive skin use handmade soaps with mint blends. Mint closes down pores and is great after working outside in the summer. Tea tree oil soaps help with infectious acne. Use tea tree oil soap for a few months and then rotate with other soap blends.
Even after switching to handmade soap, I continued to get occasional psoriasis on my ankles, wrists and belt line, especially in warm weather. I realized there was a link to the laundry products I was using. By switching to a liquid castile soap instead of commercial detergents I soon became symptom-free.
For shaving irritation, try using whatever handmade soap the rest of your skin likes, instead of commercial shaving preparations. Never reuse blades, and observe if certain shaving directions irritate more than others.
I have washed my hair with handmade soap for more than 7 years now and I no longer experience a flaking itchy scalp. No more "dandruff" cracks from the peanut gallery after about 3 weeks of use. After about a year of use, the lady who has cut my hair for years noticed that my chronic split ends also cleared up. My wife however, who has long blonde hair, cannot use handmade soap as a shampoo. It mats down her hair and makes it hard to comb through. All I can say is try it. Short, dry, thinning dark hair (that's me) responds well, all you other hair types have to try for yourselves!
Ingredients often found in conventional soaps can cause skin irritation or worse, some are known to be harmful to human health. Ingredient sensitivity reactions vary for each one of us, and may change seasonally or at times of stress. Below are ingredients that I often react to, or that have been proven harmful to human health:
Many of the compounds in fragrances are carcinogenic or otherwise toxic. The word "fragrance" on a soap label can mean any of 4,000 different ingredients, most of which are synthetic. Not only are fragrances potentially carcinogenic, according to Home Safe Home author Debra Lynn Ladd, "Clinical observation by medical doctors has shown that exposure to fragrances can affect the central nervous system, causing depression, hyperactivity, irritability, inability to cope and other behavioral changes." A surprising number of people experience a dry-skin reaction from many common fragrances. Even some fragrant natural essential oils, such as clove and mint herbs can cause skin irritation in some people.
Coal tar derived FD&C Colors can cause sensitivity, irritation or worse. A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients states, "many pigments cause skin sensitivity and irritation…and absorption (of certain colors) can cause depletion of oxygen in the body and death." Do you really need pretty colors when they could cause you serious harm?
Propylene Glycol is not only used in traditional soap, it is the active ingredient in antifreeze! Because of its ability to quickly penetrate the skin, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires workers to wear protective gloves and goggles when working with this toxic substance. Material Safety Data Sheets required by the U.S. OSHA warn against skin contact because it can have systemic impacts such as brain, liver and kidney abnormalities.
Triclosan, an anti-bacterial chemical found in some bar soap, is a chlorophenol, a class of chemicals suspected of causing cancer in humans. It is also a chlorinated aromatic compound, similar in molecular structure to some of the most toxic chemicals on earth: dioxins, PCBs and Agent Orange. Do you really want these substances being applied intentionally to your skin? DEA (diethanolamines) are hormone-disrupting chemicals known to form cancer-causing nitrates and nitrosamines. Isopropyl Alcohol's drying effects can remove protective oils and create microscopic cracks in the skin, which can trap and harbor bacteria and other pathogens.
More Research is Needed
Everybody knows someone with skin problems. Given the sheer number of things to potentially react to in our environment, the problem is widespread and worthy of serious study. There may also be ingredient interactions - much like drug interactions - either increasing sensitivity or increasing the potential for skin irritation. I have also noticed a link between air pollution and skin sensitivities. Any graduate students looking for a thesis?
I am very happy to report that I have been completely symptom-free since 1994, when I began using liquid castile soaps for laundry and handmade soaps for shampoo and shaving. Thanks for letting me share my health and beauty secrets with you. I hope this wonderful natural product works as well for you as it does for me.
Happy Trails!
Article#3
Middlebury, Vermont – Handmade natural soap may be an unlikely revolutionary symbol, but it is a part of society's movement toward buying products that are healthy and good for the environment. According to Natural Foods Merchandiser, the natural products industry grew by 11% from 1998 to 1999 and total sales in 1999 exceeded 28 billion dollars. Sales of natural body care products experienced similar growth, with sales in natural food stores increasing by more than 12% from 1998 to 1999.
Consumers Are In A Lather Over Natural Soap
Handcrafted in small batches, natural soap is gaining converts from coast-to-coast and overseas. Customers are snapping it up in record numbers. Sales at Vermont Soapworks have increased by more than 35% in each of the last 3 years. The three largest handmade soap companies - Vermont Soapworks, Sunfeather and Woodspirit - each have annual sales around $1 million and are forecasting growth. Vermont Soapworks will complete a 50% expansion of its facility this summer. Hundreds of smaller businesses are following their lead. Soapers, as they call themselves, are finding success with creative marketing strategies. For example, unpackaged bars of soap presented in colorful and rustic displays are boosting sales. Shoppers can't help but approach the display and pick up the soap, inhale the aroma, admire the natural ingredients and buy it. Much like microbreweries have been successful by making small batches with natural ingredients, "microsoapworks" have the same handcrafted appeal.
How is Handmade Natural Soap Created?
At Vermont Soapworks, Master Soapmakers do things the old fashioned way. Natural ingredients are blended in small batches and poured into wooden block molds. The molds are then warmed for several days, which forces the soap to set up very slowly. Any excess alkali rises to the top like cream and is skimmed off. When ready, the soap is wire cut into bars, placed on oak drying frames and aged in a special curing room for nearly a month. Only this 200 year-old process removes excess alkali from the soap, a major cause of dryness and irritation often found in conventional bar soaps. Handmade natural soap can be made from a number of renewable vegetable and botanical sources such as saponified oils of palm, coconut and essential oils in aromatherapy blends. Many Soapmakers use Rosemary extract as a natural preservative. While some soapers blend ingredients for skin treatment and aromatherapy, others blend and shape soap for creativity and sheer whimsy.
Treat Your Body's Largest Organ With Respect
For adults, the skin is between 15 and 20 percent of total body weight and for obvious reasons, healthy skin is very important for overall well-being. With skin covering approximately 20 square feet of the human body, it is the largest human organ and is the first line of defense against harmful substances, temperature, infection, and dehydration.
Handmade Natural Soap Is Good For Your Skin
Evidence abounds of the healing powers of handmade natural soap, particularly when essential oils are included. Eczema and psoriasis sufferers, as well as people that have sensitive skin or are hypoallergenic often find immediate relief by switching to natural soap. Handmade soap is very mild due to how it is made, and also because of what is not included. With few exceptions, there are no artificial colors, fragrances, or preservatives used in handmade natural soap.
What Can Make Some Soaps Harsh and Harmful?
Many people complain about soap making their skin feel dry, itchy, or worse and reach for moisturizing lotion as soon as they get out of the shower. Trapped free alkali is the most common irritant in soap. Soap is made from oils (an acid) mixed with water and alkali (a base). Acids and bases neutralize each other to form a salt - in this case soap with glycerine as a by-product. Oils that did not find the alkali are "free" or "superfatted" which makes soap milder while reducing lather and shelf life. Alkali that does not find oils is "free alkali", which makes soap harsh and drying. The handcrafting process for natural soap removes excess alkali that traditional soaps leave in. Some ingredients in mass-marketed soap including Isopropyl Alcohol, DEA, fragrances, FD&C Colors, Propylene Glycol and Triclosan have been proven harmful to human health and can cause severe skin irritation in some people.
Selecting The Right Soap
To improve skin health, consumers should carefully review the ingredients in the soap they are using. If they can't pronounce the ingredients or their skin is dry or irritated, they should identify and use a natural vegetable-based soap bar that addresses the needs of their skin type. Visit
www.vermontsoap.com to learn more about how to determine skin types and which natural soap ingredients are recommended for different skin types.
A Healthy Revolution
A green consumer revolution is gaining ground in bathrooms and boardrooms across America. As the public gains more knowledge on the quality and benefits of natural products, companies in micro-size industries are suddenly on the radar screens of multi-national corporations, and more importantly, in the showers of the average consumer.
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