sponge grunge

i recently read that almost all sponges sold in U.S. grocery stores now are filled with a synthetic disinfectant, usually triclosan, a harmful pesticide registered with the environmental protection agency! wow! did you know that chemical disinfectants like triclosan may contribute to drug resistant bacteria just like antibiotics do? buyer beware! look for pure and natural cellulose sponges instead and steer clear of synthetic sponges that are reported to "kill odors", "fight germs", etc. (unless of course you want to kill and fight your own immune system . . .)

note: the sponges pictured here are representational only and may or may not contain harmful disenfectants

cancer-causing 1,4-dioxane found in natural and organic personal care products...BUSTED!

it's official. many of the leading so called natural and organic soaps, shampoos, and body washes contain cancer-causing 1,4-dioxane. i've been harping about this for years, but the organic consumers assn. finally did the research. some of the supposedly natural and organic brands found to contain this cancer causing substance are aura cacia, alba, jason pure natural & organic, giovanni organic cosmetics, kiss my face, nature's gate organics, method, origins, grandpa's pine tar shampoo bar, and even whole foods own 365 everyday value brand! sheesh. is nothing sacred anymore?

ethoxylation, a cheap short-cut companies use to provide mildness to harsh ingredients, requires the use of the cancer-causing petrochemical ethylene oxide, which generates 1,4-dioxane as a by-product. to avoid toxic 1,4-dioxane, the OCA urges consumers to search ingredient lists for indications of ethoxylation including: "myreth," "oleth," "laureth," "ceteareth," any other "eth," "PEG," "polyethylene," "polyethylene glycol," "polyoxyethylene," or "oxynol," in ingredient names. or you could just wash with a wild soap bar instead. we'd never do you dirty like that.

in all fairness though, i would like to note that the USDA certified organic products they tested were all dioxane-free. so at least our government is getting something right.

weekend carpenters

so what do we do around here on the weekends? my youngest son and master soapmaker jory (left) and dear hubby mike (our main fixer upper) are working on jory's very super cool little cabin in the woods. here you see the floor joists of what will eventually be the living room and kitchen. the bedroom and bathroom are dried in (above). building a house is a heck of a lot of work. we should know, we built our own log cabin years ago and it's still our humble abode. this will surely beat paying rent in austin and what better way for father and son to bond? jory loves the idea of being able to walk to work and the money he'll save on gas and rent will go right back into future projects like a rainwater system and solar roof panels. we didn't raise no dummy. and me? i've been working on the dreaded T word (taxes) every weekend... but don't get me started on that sore subject!

it's all about the numbers

i just ran across the most amazing series of artwork and i feel compelled to share it with you. it looks at contemporary american culture through statistics. it made me think long and hard about our enormously wasteful and overconsumptive lifestyle here in america (among other pressing social issues). it also made me want to start offering only naked soaps exclusively. (i wonder how many soap bar wrappers are tossed in the trash every hour? the answer is probably mind boggling!) but 64% of our readers who took our survey last week said they like having the option of buying naked soaps or wrapped ones, so it looks like we won't be moving to strictly naked soaps anytime soon.

now here's the artwork. how does it inspire you?

http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id

opening new doors

we've got 2 new shop doors! they open and close. the exterior is finished. it's time to get to work.

below is the new door we will open every morning. when i walk through this door, the reality hits me. 2008 is going to be ... B I G ! but nobody ever said it was going to be easy. building a soap business from scratch is tons of hard work. i've come a long way from stirring up soap in my kitchen. i can't think of anything else i'd rather do now. by opening new doors, we open up huge possibilities. so open that door, step inside and savor the sweet smell of success ...