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Jan 25th 2023
What is Plastic?
What is Plastic?Most of us probably have dozens of items around us that are made from plastic, but what is plastic actually? And why are we so focused on helping people reduce their use of plastic? Th…
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Mar 17th 2021
Know Your Alcohols!
Know your Alcohols!Not just cabernet from malbec, single malt from bourbon (although that's great too!) Alcohols are a diverse class of compounds. Some are liquid at room temperature, others are solid…
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Jul 9th 2019
Plastic-Free Shampoo Bars – Read All About ‘Em!
Shampoo bars: A plastic-free choice for hair! Do you cringe when you buy hair-care products in plastic bottles? Do you wonder where the ingredients in your shampoo come from? Good news: We'…
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Mar 8th 2019
Important Updates on Sustainability and Palm Oil
In this post, we discuss RSPO sustainability certifications for palm oil. If you're not familiar with palm oil, check out our introductory post about it from 2015! Sustainability certificati…
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Mar 3rd 2019
What is Soap?
Have you ever wondered what soap is, or been curious about the science behind the bubbles? The magical kettle of soapy stew holds lessons in science for me and you! You don't have to be a…
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Mar 26th 2018
Palm Oil Production (Part 2), Challenges for Sustainability
Problems with palm oil evade simple solutions. We may like to think that environmental and social sustainability problems can be solved in the marketplace by requiring responsible standards. Wh…
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Mar 2nd 2018
Palm Oil and Sustainability, An Update (Part 1)
Palm oil is a tropical oil surrounded by controversy. I first wrote about palm oil two years ago in a post that discussed issues with its production, including mas…
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Oct 20th 2017
An Introduction to Essential Oils
Essential oils are like magic in a bottle! They are so named because they're considered "plant essences" and are mostly soluble in oil rather than in water. This post provides an introduction to essen…
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Sep 30th 2017
What is Fair Trade, and Does it Matter in Body Care?
Free Trade? Fair Trade? What's the difference, and what does this have to do with your chocolate, coffee and body care products? When I started making soap and needed to buy oils in bulk, I realized I…
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May 19th 2015
Cocoa production – an introduction
Cocoa, a favorite food and ingredient in personal care items, is a product I use or consume pretty much every day. I'm a huge fan of dark chocolate, and I love using cocoa butter in soaps and lotions.…
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Feb 17th 2015
Palm oil – what you should know
Why we don't use palm oil Upper left: Large map including major palm-oil producing regions. Indonesia is j…
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