The Natural Soapworks supports WWF's Earth Hour - are you?

We've just signed up to WWF's 2010 Earth Hour.

On Saturday 27 March 2010 at 8.30pm, the aim is for a billion people around the world to switch off their lights for one hour – WWF’s Earth Hour. This will be a very public show of support for the people and animals that are threatened by climate change. WWF are also encouraging us all to think about our impact on the environment, and to take part in fun fund raising activities as everything goes dark.

Visit the WWF website for ideas if you want to take part.
We hope you join us in the big switch off!

Sustainable palm oil and the plight of the orangutan

We wanted to add a brief note regarding the BBC's Panorama 'Dying for a biscuit' programme which was screened in the UK earlier this evening. It gave a good insight into the issues surrounding the palm oil industry, and the effect palm oil plantations are having on the habitat of the wild orangutan and other animal species. Further information on the palm oil trade can be found in this article on the BBC's website.

We'd like to re-emphasise to our customers, that we have already taken steps to only source palm oil from a sustainable source (in Colombia) for use in our handmade soaps. We have also undertaken extensive product development, to successfully develop a luxury palm-free soap formulation which is the basis for our new range of contemporary soap slices. As the programme highlighted, it isn't always easy to care for the environment when the supply chain for botanical oils is so difficult to regulate. But we hope that in some small way, our efforts will highlight that companies can take steps to ensure they do not contribute to the demise of the wild orangutan.

If you have been troubled by what you have seen and would like to help BOS UK (Borneo Orangutan Survival), remember that we continue to sell our charity soap. Or you can visit the BOS website for information on how you can directly contribute towards their work to rescue and rehabilitate orphaned orangutans in Borneo.

Mother's Day Natural Soap Hampers

We've just uploaded some new goats milk soap gift hampers on to The Natural Soapworks website, which would make perfect Mother's Day gifts. Our new contemporary soap range will be added to the website in the coming weeks, and we're very pleased with them!

The botancial mini soaps, will be available in 2 sizes: 25g (these are the cute mini soaps which have been featured in our natural skincare gift sets for a while), and 40g (a new larger mini soap). These look fantastic in our elegant, hamper boxes.

We're particularly proud of our new contemporary soap slices, since they look beautiful but are also handmade using our new goats milk palm-free soap formulation. We first introduced this soap recipe when we launched 'Orang 2' (our charity soap, which supports Borneo Orangutan Survival - BOS UK). It will be the base formulation for our contemporary soap range, so is particularly suitable for anyone who wants to avoid using products which contain palm oil. This soap range will introduce several new soap fragrances, and the first six are: Springtime (a refreshing and uplifting blend with herbal and citrus notes), Rosebud (delicate, sweet rose notes), Hippy Rosie (rose geranium with patchouli), Exotic Flowers (rich sensual notes of ylang ylang and jasmine), Marigold (with lavender and chamomile), and an old favourite, Lavender.

These are being previewed in our Mother's Day hampers page on the website, and will soon be available as individual soaps. We hope you like them!