My Soap Business - Can't do it.

... and the average life span of a woman 100 years ago (prior to laws governing such things as hasardous material) was 48. People did not survive, for many reasons.

My point was, you can't compare then & now they are 2 very differnt situations.

Thank you Carillon and everyone for you support! I really needed to read those posts of encouragement - it's very easy to throw in the towel when you face a road-block.

I'm going to take your advice and set up a face-to-face meeting with our town council, and do exactly as you have suggested - full presentation of the soap process, how much supplies I expect to carry, samples - the whole thing.

It became very obvious after speaking with the gentleman on the phone that he knew lye was involved and he automatically assumed Hazmat. If I were intending to be a full-time soaper (which I am not by a long shot) then their concerns would be valid - and I could see one requiring a dedicated work area with professional grade exhaust, storage, ect. But I hope once I show them my plans; that I'm going to be a one-man business, selling soap on the side, with no plans to go into full production and hording drums of lye and oil in my kitchen, they will make an exemption for me.

It is amusing though - all I'm trying to do is take a hobby and make a little money on the side - and do it legally by reporting it as income. I could have just avoided all this and stayed under the radar. I'm certain 90% of the people selling at outdoor flea markets are not collecting tax and reporting their income. I know personally I've never been charged tax at a flea market. So what can do? lol

I'll be sure to keep everyone updated on my progress. And I will beg for your help if I need it!

Thanks again for your support!!!!


BTW - forgot to mention - I'm looking into the requirements in the town where my parents own a home (also in NJ) - hoping they are more relaxed over there just in case I have no luck where I live.

Tabitha -- you've mentioned that you own a brick and mortar soap store. Is it outside of city limits, or...?

I don't make CP. I make bath & body and order CP from another soapmaker. My B&M is a consignment gallery.

I am sure if I did decide to make my own I could get a variance for small scale production. Our variances are free of charge & just take a city council vote.

Ah, OK.

Lye is an official HAZMAT material. It simply would not be safe to have anyone & everyone running around & storing it in any fashion they choose.

I obtained a permit for the material quite simply, showing basic knowledge of the product, and hopefully you should as well.

Yeah I am in Sussex up in NW Jersey....in the mountains. I'm sorry you are having such a hard time. i would think there has to be a way to get an exception. Good luck and keep us posted

I'm confident you can get an exception. The US government is just super bureaucratic, you have one guy on autopilot "just doing his job" so you have to go up the chain until you get someone using a small degree of reason and rationale.

You can do it -- just have to get through the red tape. I hope you'll keep us posted.

carillon said:

I think a presentation as Surf Girl suggested is exactly what you need to do.

Give all the council members a bar of your soap. Bring small jars of oils and lye, maybe even a mold to show them the tools of your trade.

Then explain how your small operation poses no more danger than ..........

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Excellent ideas!!!! Do show them the safety equipment that you use. May want to gently point out that these are the same safety controls anyone of them would use when handling the dangerous products in their homes such as bug sprays and various cleaning gear. Which many do not, but it would be nice to get them thinking about their own household items. If they ask, diplomatically suggest that they read the warning labels and request the MSDS for the products.

I have watched you planning for some time now and wish you the very best.

Digit

wow , the hoops one must jump through to do something you love to do..

Any update Brian?

Digit

Wow. After reading this, I'm depressed and I don't even live in the States! LOL I'll be sticking with MP soaps so that I don't have to contend with this sort of thing. I'm sure Alberta, and this town, have all sorts of things they can bring into play unless I keep it as simple as possible. Like you, Brian, I just want to make a bit of money so I can have a better life. I'm not trying to become Lush or Body Shop. LOL

Check out the local churches in your area, often their kitchens are professional and meet the code requirements. Then approach the church and offer to rent out the kitchen to you during the week for a day or two at a nominal charge, for your soapmaking.

Just a thought.

Moondancer - Canada is way easier to do this business in. We have legislation covering our industry (Cosmetics) and you want to make sure you have insurance before you start selling. We do not have the incredibly stringent laws regarding lye that the US has so rest easy on that.

If you want to send me your email via PM I will send you a sample Business Plan so you can figure out how to write a Business Plan - Ashley is going through this right now too. In Canada we have what's called the Silf-Employment Plan - here is a post where I talk about this program and believe me when I tell you it is well worth the effort - http://soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7501. If approved they will pay you a living allowance while you set up your business.

Sorry - I didn't mean to hijack this thread -

And in Canada you also have to have your receipes approved by Health Canada. Not that its hard to do, just time consuming, filling out all the forms.

Gracie, great idea re the kitchen.

We do not have the incredibly stringent laws regarding lye that the US has so rest easy on that.

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I personally am able to rest easy because we have minimum safety laws re: lye and other hazardous materials in place. I am glad my neighbor can not store 50 ponds of lye in her backyard.

Every country, town, etc has their own set of minimum safety hoops to jump through. IE) Canada requires recipes be approved/registered, the states do not. Specs may differ, but the purpose is the same, to set a minimum saftey standard for a given area.

Tabitha you're right - in the wrong hands lye is extremely dangerous, fortunately there aren't that many of those types of hands around and I tend to think of it as just another chemical that is useful but needs to be respected. I guess for me it's nice to not have one more hoop to jump through or the opportunity for someone to tell me no so I have a knee-jerk reaction when I hear of people being told no they can't do a legitimate business.

Gracie is right we do have to register our recipes with the Government - there is no cost to it - nor do you have to wait for the approval - we only hear from them if there is a problem like we're using an ingredient either on the hotlist or in proportions not approved. Part of the reason to register the recipe & ingredients that you use is to protect yourself if someone complains to the government about you - if they know what you are using they can tell the consumer that the recipe falls within Health Canada's guidelines.

To obtain lye we do have to pay for hazardous good shipping or get a local supplier to bring it in for us. I have chosen to have it brought in by a local store for a couple of reasons - one ~ I like to support our local economy & two ~ even though it's a little more money I like the product just a tad more.

With all do respect Lindy, I have a different opinion. You need to wait for approval from Health Canada, they do send a letter of approval, in my experience with them. And your facility should always be open for inspection, in my experience they come 2 times a year.

I whole heartily agree that Canadian soapers need insurance, but the insurance companies do have loop holes in their contracts, to make sure you comply with Health Canada Requirements. Its to protect our customers.

Paperwork, is the bain of my existence, but its a must in this business. Including the paperwork, for each recipe, required for being approved by the Health Department.

If I hijacked this thread, please forgive me.

Thanks Gracie for correcting me - I have sent paperwork into them and I understood, obviously mistakenly that they just wanted the recipes registered. So I'll contact them again and find out when I can expect the approvals. I sent it in February - how long did it take for you to receive your approvals?

Cheers
Lindy