So we have been very busy here at Beechview what with cutting hedges, harvesting, baking and preserving, and also diversifying! Although we are a little unsure as to whether we can call it diversifying when we haven't even begun formally selling yet??????
SO the new product is VERY exciting and is being used here at Beechview and is lasting well! Dish Soap.
Well, the realisation came when the children were playing with water in the garden and I was looking to equip the four-year-old with a used washing-up liquid bottle filled with water in order to even things up a little given the 7-year-old had the hosepipe... Then I realised the amount of plastic in the said bottle and the thought struck...
A little bit of research has shown us that these are not completely new and they seem to be something that is used in other countries a little more than the UK. 'Solid Dish Soap' is a solid soap bar and you fill your sink as normal with hot water and using your sponge/cloth rub the wet cloth into the soap and wash your dishes! simples! You have to change the habits of a lifetime a little as you need to remember to rub your sponge into the soap and not just rely on the water and soap to do the job. We have decided to make them in aluminum tins and in three amazing scents! The tins mean once you are finished you can give it a quick wipe over to keep it dry and replace the lid, it is so discrete and we love not having a big plastic bottle on display! It is a little more expensive with the tin rather than just having a dish soap bar but a lot of the reviews that we had seen said that the loose bar got wet and a bit messy looking and so far this looks fine! It lasts just as long if not longer than liquid competitors and removes grease and dirt with ease!
We have decided to go with three different scents at present and kept the amount of oil down below 1% of the bar, so while they do have a lovely scent they do not need any corrosive warning signs on the bars, which we had no idea was a thing until we read the back of our old washing up bottle! We have also decided not to add any colours to the soap either to keep it as natural as possible, though may look at this in the future if there is a demand :-)
We also did a lot of research in relation to the soap bases used and have come up with RSPO certified segregated palm oil and kernels. This in itself was a big decision given the amount of concern around Palm Oil industry standards at present though this process was very eco-friendly and implemented quality assurance of Palm Oil collecting through something called the Round Table of Sustainable Palm Oil which has aims and visions that are about correcting and fixing the Palm oil situation. It was founded in 2004 and reviews, on the whole, are very positive though they do vary so we are keeping a very close eye on the company and what it is doing!!
As this is not a cosmetic product we don't need to wait for safety certificates etc but we contacted local trading standards to be doubly sure and they were extremely helpful and we just needed to ensure the labels took cognisance of CLP laws. This product will only be available in the UK at first and my task now is to get these onto the shop for people to try! We are awaiting the labels this week at which point we can make these go live and you can give one a bash!
It may be too different for many people who prefer the old way of washing dishes but environmentally and in terms of being good for the skin this seems a no-brainer for us at Beechview! Once the change is done it becomes the new normal!
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