I use soap to
wash my body (I don’t like using soap on my face so I cleanse with oil and water.)
Instead of shampoo.
washing the bath and other household cleaning chores.

Which Soap?

Buying plastic free soap can be tricky. Even those that come in boxes might be plastic wrapped. Try the squeeze test. If the box crackles there is plastic inside!
Dove comes in a box plastic free but has some nasty ingredients and is not so good for washing hair

Ethical Soap

Should be easy enough but buying soap can be an ethical minefield. Here are some of the things you might not want in your soap.
sodium tallowate  is from animal fat usually from cows
Sodium lauryl sulfate (commonly known as SLS)  .
Synthetic fragrance  – which may contain DEO a phthalate used as a solvent and fixative. Despite the general bad press about phthalates this one is considered safe.
Palm Oil and Palm Kernel Oil (PKO). I’ve use of this product has impacted adversely on the habitat of the orangutang  a now endangered species. You can find out more about it and why we minimise our use of palm oil, here .

You can read more about dirty soap HERE

And of course we like to support locally made products.

Here are our favourite ethical soaps

Made IN Yorkshire

Friendly Soap is Yorkshire soap and packaged plastic free. Here is some info from their WEBSITE

“Ethics come before profits at Friendly Soap. From start to finish, no stone is left unturned in the quest to produce zero-impact soap. Sustainability and ethical integrity are top of the list, bringing you fabulous natural soap that benefits the planet, its animals… and you.

made using the ancient cold-process method of soap making, which creates a biodegradable soap with zero by-products.
Energy consumption is kept to an absolute minimum
every bar of soap is poured, cut, stamped and packed by hand, here in the U.K.
contain only the finest natural ingredients. Guaranteed cruelty-free and vegan, and free from Parabens, SLS, Pthalates or Triclosan.
They are sold locally in some outlets or you can buy them in plastic free packaging online.

Nationwide

Another ethical soap that is sold loose in most health food shops is Suma soap which are
“made in the UK, vegan and do not contain parabens, triclosan or phthalates.
Our range is free from artificial preservatives, colours and fragrances (we use essential oils to scent our products) and we guarantee our products have not been the subject of animal testing by Suma or our suppliers.

Suma handmade soap is made using the traditional cold process method of soap making, which generates zero by-product. Suma soaps are poured, cut, stamped, and packed by hand – using as little energy as possible.

Suma bodycare products do not contain methylisothiazolinone or phosphates and are GMO free.”
Read more HERE

Plastic Free Online

And this in reply to a tweet from Friendly Soaps
Hi Kate, Thanks for getting in touch. All orders are sent out from our website plastic-free. We use card and paper tape where ever possible. Our soaps can also be found in a lot of health food grocery shops around the UK. We look forward to reading any article you may write.

Etsy
There are a lot of artisan soap makers producing high quality sustainable soaps.

Homemade
Or you could make your own. Read this from Jen of Make Do And Mend Life
Here are some recipes for making Castille Soap

More

Liquid Soap
I know that some of you don’t like bar soap so here’s a liquid #plasticfree refill that you dissolve in water HERE

Read all our other soapy posts HERE