Liability and giving away soaps
- Thread starter TessC
- Start date
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Chill. Really - do you worry about getting sued over the cookies you bake for a neighbor, or sell in the church bake sale? Do you worry that the coat you donated to a shelter will somehow cause someone an allergic reaction and you'll end up losing your house?
If you have a business then insure yourself. If it's a craft and hobby it's possibly covered by your homeowners insurance. If not, it's unlikely to matter.
If you have a business then insure yourself. If it's a craft and hobby it's possibly covered by your homeowners insurance. If not, it's unlikely to matter.
dagmar88
Well-Known Member
Over there people do seem to be pretty sue happy...
Over here there's a lot of hobby soapmakers selling their stuff to keep the costs covered.
As long as they don't make big enough of a profit, there's really no problem.
The local 'food & goods authority' has more important stuff to think about and is hugely understaffed.
I know of one hobby seller (no business, no business insurance) who invited them over; they took a quick look and said 'everything seems allright here, keep up the good work'
Though one phonecall to them ('I used x's handmade soap on my child and it got seriously burned by it') could mean the end of it, no one even worries about that.
Though I could very well open a webshop right now, no strings attached, I just wanna do it right and build up a good and professional reputation :wink:
Over here there's a lot of hobby soapmakers selling their stuff to keep the costs covered.
As long as they don't make big enough of a profit, there's really no problem.
The local 'food & goods authority' has more important stuff to think about and is hugely understaffed.
I know of one hobby seller (no business, no business insurance) who invited them over; they took a quick look and said 'everything seems allright here, keep up the good work'
Though one phonecall to them ('I used x's handmade soap on my child and it got seriously burned by it') could mean the end of it, no one even worries about that.
Though I could very well open a webshop right now, no strings attached, I just wanna do it right and build up a good and professional reputation :wink:
oldragbagger
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I give away soap all the time. Don't sell it, don't want to sell it, don't have insurance for soap, just normal homeowners insurance. Usually my giving away soap comes about because I am talking about soap with someone and they say something like "... wow, I'd really like to try that". At one point I emailed some friends and asked if anyone would like to be a tester. I then sent soaps only to those who expressed interest. Usually for me there is a conversation that takes place with a person about whatever soap I am giving them, it's ingredients, what I hope I have accomplished with the recipe I used. It is my hope that if there are any issues with ingredients and allergies or such, it would come up at that point. Usually people are just grateful and excited to get to try something new and to get it for free.
If you are only giving to friends and relatives and are constantly fretting about getting sued, I'd get new friends. (No idea what to do about the relatives.)
Truly, if I were that worried about it, I'd just make smaller batches and keep it at home.
If you are only giving to friends and relatives and are constantly fretting about getting sued, I'd get new friends. (No idea what to do about the relatives.)
Truly, if I were that worried about it, I'd just make smaller batches and keep it at home.
CherryGardenGirl
Well-Known Member
What if you have a small business . . . and give, or list, a freebie along with an item???? Would you still get sued if it was a freebie?
