Palm oil is widely used as a base oil in soapmaking. It creates a hard bar of soap with a creamy stable lather, and is often used as the vegetarian equivalent to tallow because it imparts the same characteristics to the bar of soap. Because of this it is a very popular ingredient in handmade soap. You might notice that in the list of ingredients on a bar of Glynne’s Soap, palm oil is not there. We have made a conscious choice not to use palm oil because of environmental concerns. If you keep up with our blog, or know us at all, you know that we are committed to being as green as possible. We recycle, reduce and reuse. We also try to only purchase materials that are also considered environmentally friendly. Palm oil is not one of these materials. Palm oil is a basic source of income for many of the world's rural poor in South East Asia, Central and West Africa, and Central America. Because of its increasing popularity, more and more rainforests are being destroyed to create more room for the palm plantations. The destruction of the rainforests is harmful to the environment for many reasons:

Significant greenhouse gas emission. Deforestation in tropical areas accounts for 1/3 of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions.

Destruction of the habitats of many endangered species including the Sumatran Orangutan, Sumatran Tiger and African Rhinoceros. With their habitat destroyed, these animals will suffer extinction.

Removal of the natural growth leads to loss of homes, farmland, degradation of food and water supplies and untold other environmental effects.

Because of these concerns, we have decided not to make palm oil an ingredient of our soaps. The Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil is beginning to certify certain palm oil producers as sustainable. Because this is a new system, it is not certain which suppliers are truly using sustainable palm oil. Until the certification process is less confusing, we will continue to stay away from palm oil. What can you do? There are many things that individuals can do to help increase companies use of sustainable palm oil and to help ensure that the sustainable certification is authentic. Palm oil is used in many food products as well as beauty products. Write to the companies that make these products and insist that they use certified sustainable palm oil. Discontinue using any products that contain palm oil. Let all your friends and family know the destruction that is being caused by the increasing demand for palm oil. Every little bit helps. Watch this short video about an orangutan that befriends a dog. It's very cute, and has a great message! [video:youtube:QByHat2BJLs] I'd love to hear your comments about the environmental impact of the increased use of palm oil. Keep it clean! Jenn

I hope everyone is having a relaxing three day weekend. Here in Wilmington, it’s raining, so we can’t spend much time outside. I even had to cut my run short this morning. I always thought it was funny that Labor Day was a vacation day. Seems to me, it should be a day for labor. The Glynne’s Soaps staff has decided to make today a planning day. I’m excited to be brainstorming new ideas for the company. I have some good ones, like more lunches for the Sales Manager, but can’t wait to see what everyone else thinks. Be on the lookout for these new developments. Tomorrow we will be on the road again, and I’m going to get to ride the ferry. We are delivering Front Street Brewery beer soaps to Lantana’s Gallery and Fine Gifts in Southport, NC. The next time you are in Southport, you need to check them out. Aside for being a terrific gift shop, they highlight the arts and crafts of many local artists. While in Southport, we will also check in at Cool Dogs and Crazy Cats. They carry our dog soaps and are very nice people. We love to stop and chat and I love the stores that I can go in and browse. I picked up a copy of Dog Living Magazine a few days ago, and was thrilled to see the article about regional pet businesses. Of course, Glynne’s Soaps was a part, but there were many other businesses that were in the article as well. I think it’s important to support local businesses as much as possible. Grab your own copy of Dog Living Magazine and check it out! Until next time, keep it clean! Wrigley Sales Manager PS you can tweet me or just follow my adventures on twitter @wrigleysoapguru

A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of meeting with Jason at RJ Rockers Brewery in Spartanburg, South Carolina. They make a peach beer that we were very interested in turning into soap. Turns out, they were very interested as well. The beer is called “Son of a Peach” and is described as unfiltered American wheat ale with mean peaches. We had to laugh because they have nicknamed the beer “S.O.A.P.”, so we would be making S.O.A.P. soap for them.

We made a test batch, and it was a very nice soap with a great smell. When talking with Jason, we discussed that maybe adding an essential oil to the soap could enhance the peachiness of it. After much back and forth with our apothecary, Eva, at Down to Earth Oils in downtown Wilmington, we decided on a mix of orange and clove essential oils. Let me tell you, it truly did what we were hoping for, the soap does smell like peaches with a hint of clove. It smells wonderful. We will be hand delivering the first batch to RJ Rockers tomorrow because we were fortunate to get tickets to the Panthers/Steelers pre-season game. I'm sure there will be some "smack talk" between the two of us on the way, since Gayle is a big Panthers fan and I will always pull for the Steelers.

RJ Rockers became Spartanburg’s first brewery in 1997. They have a long standing tradition of producing high quality brews by hand. In fact, their slogan is “HANDCRAFTED. EVERY BEER. EVERY DROP. EVERY TIME.” They no longer have a brew pub, but the beer can be purchased in locations throughout South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, DC, and Maryland. The folks there are terrific people! If you ever find yourself near Spartanburg SC find out about taking a tour of the brewery. For your reading pleasure, you can also check out blogs written by some of the employees.

You might be asking yourself, why beer in soap? Aside from the novelty of it; the ability to take your favorite beer home in a different form, there are some “skin healthy” qualities to using soap made with beer. Since beer is made from different grains, the mineral rich qualities of these grains are transferred to your skin, giving it a healthy glow. The hops are full of amino acids that are very softening and soothing to the skin. Many people with sensitive skin, and even eczema and psoriasis love the beer soap for its healing properties. In addition, hops are very relaxing herbs, so using it in the tub or shower can calm and relax your mind as well as your skin.

If you are excited or even intrigued about the Son of a Peach Beer soap, give it a try. It will not disappoint.

Jenn

For the longest time, we have kept a bar of our Java Scrub soap near the kitchen sink. The coffee soap was great for removing odors from our hands while cooking. Smells from foods like onions, fish, and garlic were gone with a quick wash. It was great! Then we learned from a friend of ours, who also does a lot of aromatherapy work with her spa clients, that the caffeine in the coffee soap can also reduce cellulite. A bar of Java Scrub soap was immediately carried to the shower. Approximately 85% of all women have some cellulite on their bodies; that lumpy, bumpy, cottage cheese look just under the skin. It occurs more frequently in older women or larger women, but even those with low body fat can usually find some cellulite. Dr Ava Shamban, who owns the Laser Institute for Dermatology and European Skin Care in Santa Monica, Calif., states that cellulite "is a structural problem. It's not only the fat, but it has to do with the connective tissue. The connective tissue acts as a mesh to keep the fat close to the legs, which happens for men, but not so well for women. So, in women, sometimes this connective mesh opens up and the fat bulges out. That gives you the cellulite." (http://www.cbsnews.com “Caffeine is Latest Cellulite Weapon”) The theory behind the benefit of caffeine is that it will increase your metabolism, which will reduce fat. The caffeine also will reduce some of the swelling or edema of the fat cells by drawing out water, making your skin smoother. Other reports suggest that the benefits of the caffeine in soaps or creams can be enhanced by massaging and rubbing the needed areas. This breaks up the fat cells and decreases the lumps and bumps even faster. Our Java Scrub soap contains real coffee grounds which, aside from being exfoliating, can aid in this massaging process. Still one more benefit of the Java Scrub lies again with its caffeine content. Just like drinking a cup of coffee, showering with coffee soap gives you that morning pick me up. Inhaling that great coffee scent will help wake you up in the morning and also can provide the afternoon boost without having to drink a cup of coffee. So, head on over to www.glynnesoaps.com and pick up some coffee soap for you and all your friends. It’s benefits are far reaching. Jenn soapmaker@glynnesoaps.com

“If we are going to learn how to tame the paper tiger, do we get paper whips and chairs?” This was Gayle’s question before we attended a seminar yesterday on getting organized. The seminar was titled “Taming the Paper Tiger in the Digital Age”. The speaker was Barbara Hemphill with The Paper Tiger Institute. We received some good information, some things were not new but it is helpful to get a refresher from time to time. Her basic message was that organization is a very personal thing. Everyone has to find what works for them and turn it in to a habit. The system you use should “Save You Space Time Energy and Money”. She did not advocate, like so many reality shows these days that you should throw away everything and completely purge your files, closets, computers, etc. Keep anything you want as long as you are aware of the trade off in space, time, energy and money. If that trade off is worth it to you, keep your things. They should be stored in an organized fashion, but you don’t need a dumpster to be organized. “Clutter is only postponed decisions” Everything that is lying around the house, office, car, etc is just awaiting a decision. Should it be filed, tossed, or have some immediate action taken for it…..once those decisions are made, the clutter is gone. Those decisions can be hard to make and for many people are put off and put off until the piles are seemingly everywhere. For some people, the inability to throw things out is an indicator that they have suffered a big loss somewhere in their past. The things take the place of whatever was lost and it is almost impossible to let go of those poor substitutes. For me personally, the information given was a great motivator to get things organized. Having a small business means things need to be organized so nothing falls through the cracks. Business can be lost easily without a system for keeping up with it. What are some organizational things that work for you? Share your tips; they might help someone else tame their paper tiger. Jenn