Green Products: Organic, Handmade Soaps

September 9th, 2013 • BY

Think “organic” is only for the foods you put in your body? Soaps to Live By founder Andreea Ayers aims to change that perception with a her new line of organic and handcrafted soaps that are all hand-poured, hand-mixed, and hand-cut in the USA.

Ayers’ Boulder, Colo.-based soap startup boasts a lineup of handmade bar soaps ($8 each) crafted from organic ingredients and beneficial essential oils. Soaps to Live By’s scents range from invigorating citrus lavender and calming lavender rosemary to cheery lemongrass sage.

We took these bath and body bar soaps for a test run in the shower and found them naturally effective on the cleaning front. According to Ayers, these cruelty-free handmade soaps are free of chemicals, parabens, synthetic fragrances, alcohol, artificial dyes, sodium laurel sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, and phthalates. While this is good news for those interested in toxin-free, green cleaning products, this boon also equates to a clean that’s slightly less sudsy than conventional bar soaps. A small price to pay to ditch the toxins in this much-used personal care product.

We also noticed a lasting moisturizing effect from using these soaps—each bar is made from USDA-certified organic coconut oil that’s infused with essential oils of clove bud and cassia plus organic oats. The company’s palm oils are grown and produced according to Fair Trade and sustainable conditions and include EcoSocial Certification.

Soaps to Live By’s scents—and its bars’ stamped-on messages—were also inspiring, especially for early morning wake-up showering. Designed to clean and elevate your mood, these handmade soaps feature stamped inspirational messages—such as “DREAM,” “LOVE,” “LAUGH,” and “SHINE.”

Each bar also packs more than appealing smells, messages, and health benefits—for each soap sold, Soaps to Live By gives back by planting a tree through their partnership with Trees for the Future. In addition, all soap labels are tree-free and printed on Biostone, a fully compostable material.

Erinn Morgan

About

After a 10-year career as an award-winning New York City-based editor launching and redesigning urban, style-driven magazines, Erinn Morgan left downtown Manhattan after September 11th, 2001, in search of a less encumbered, freelance lifestyle. A two-year-long trek around the country eventually landed her in Durango, Colo., which she now calls home.

Her writing has appeared in numerous publications, including The New York Times, Outside, National Geographic Adventure, Bike, Skiing, Delicious Living, American Cowboy, and on away.com.

Erinn is also the author of the eco-focused book, Picture Yourself Going Green, Step-by-Step Instruction for Living a Budget-Conscious, Earth-Friendly Lifestyle in Eight Weeks or Less.

She was previously the editor-in-chief of 20/20 magazine, a special projects editor at Playboy (overseeing the launch of a new, custom magazine), and the founding editor/editor-in-chief of SoHo Style, a much-lauded, avant-garde magazine that covered the culture and style of downtown New York and its reach around the world.

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