Donating Soap

[TheGecko]

I recently got into a discussion with some other soap makers after one recommended pulling 'clearance' items before Christmas so they don't damage your 'business reputation' by people being gifted imperfect products. On one hand I understood where they were coming from, but on the other hand I thought it was a bit of an oxymoron because it was fine to do so the other ten months of the year. I said that my preference to simply donate soaps that didn't meet my selling standards and I mentioned my 'donation box' and how I cut my soaps in half and put half in a ziplock bag with a washcloth and leave the other half in a box and take them to my local homeless shelter.

The general consensus among the half dozen folks was that I was lower than a snake's belly by donating 'unwanted' items, that I was (paraphrased) "adding insult to injury to folks who were already feeling pretty low by donating something that was subpar". That last bit really confused me...so it was okay to sell stuff that is subpar, but not okay to donate it? And what are we supposed to do with 'unwanted' items...toss them in the landfill instead of passing them on to people who can use them?

I have never in my life donated anything that wasn't something that I wouldn't use or eat or wear myself or allow my family/friends to do the same. All the soap daughter and I use in this house on a daily basis comes from the donation box (hubby is dedicated to his Cantaloupe), and when the other kids come to visit they grab soap from the donation box. There is nothing wrong with the quality of the soap...it's my Regular recipe, but maybe I forgot to add the scent, or the scent has faded or it has been discontinued. Maybe the colorant morphed or the design didn't turn out. Maybe the plop was too thick to swirl (hello honeysuckle). Maybe I didn't get the first two or last two bars lined up correctly. And of course, it's where the majority of my 'test' soaps end up because they are 5oz bars while I sell 4oz. I could sell any of these soaps for at least cost, but I choose not too. Again, if I won't use the soap or give it to my ex (whom I truly dislike), I will toss it.

 

[K.C.]

There really is no pleasing everyone. I feel in this day and age of social media and everyone feeling like they can say whatever they want whenever they want they can feel free to purchase said soap from you at full price and then donate it so it would be first quality in their eyes. Such BS! You're doing the right thing by thinking of others and being kind to both people and the planet!

 

[MsTigress02]

I personally donate to a few charities with my knitting and crochet items. I won't hesitate to donate soaps when my desire to make exceeds my ability to store them!

 

[Marsi]

Lower than a snakes belly?
For donating soap?
Seriously, you are being generous and kind!

If I were in need of donated soap, I'd much rather a well-made CP/HP recipe (in fugly form at worst, bonus in the super-sized form!) than any store bought "pretty"!!!
And you are adding a washcloth too!

Are any of these soapmakers donating?
(I'm not getting that generous vibe, from your description of them )

 

[basti]

The general consensus among the half dozen folks was that I was lower than a snake's belly by donating 'unwanted' items

What a load of barnacles. It's not like you're giving out weeping, rancid lye bombs.

I handed out MP soaps to hurricane victims recently, some of the bars were made with scraps (the same scraps that I usually just melt down and use for myself), and the only people who turned me down were folks going "someone needs it more than I do." No fussing about anything.

(I did have one guy, a real blue collar looking fella in a beat up old truck, who read my ingredients label out loud back to me and was very charmed by the presence of cocoa butter in them because he'd never used such a "fancy soap" before )

People who need things, need them. That's all there is to it.

 

[TheGecko]

Are any of these soapmakers donating?

Yes...only freshly made soap.

I grew up poor and I've been through some some pretty hard times. What maybe 'unwanted' to you, may be desperately needed by someone else, or appreciated by someone who can't afford it. There is a big difference between dumping your trash on someone else and passing along in-good-condition needful items.

 

[AliOop]

100% agree, Cheryl. Ignore them and move on because they aren't worth trying to convince.

 

[lenarenee]

Your soap, your standards. I think there's no better measure than that of "I donate what I would eat, use, wear myself."

Gifting is another thing. (once being the Christmas recipient of someone's vast collection of her ragged, home recorded radio mixtapes ,once she got a "real" job and bought the commercial ones to replace it). To me, that says she's good enough for the perfectly reordered, no D.J's talking music, but I'm not.

 

[Marsi]

Yes...only freshly made soap.

I grew up poor and I've been through some some pretty hard times. What maybe 'unwanted' to you, may be desperately needed by someone else, or appreciated by someone who can't afford it. There is a big difference between dumping your trash on someone else and passing along in-good-condition needful items.

Me? or the rhetorical moi?

Seriously, I agree with you - from your description there is nothing wrong with the soaps you are donating (they are perfectly functional).
I wouldn't stop giving them out, just on the words of a bunch of judgemental others.

And these judgemental others are giving freshly made soaps to charity? Wow - out of a good, cured seconds (or large) like yours, and freshly made bars ... I'll take the cured. Freshly made can cause a bunch of damage to skin (I know you know, but seriously!)! Giving out "freshly made" soap is going to cause more damage to the soapmaking industry (and the customers/giftees) than your soaps!! FFS!

 

[TheGecko]

Me? or the rhetorical moi?

Seriously, I agree with you - from your description there is nothing wrong with the soaps you are donating (they are perfectly functional).
I wouldn't stop giving them out, just on the words of a bunch of judgemental others.

And these judgemental others are giving freshly made soaps to charity? Wow - out of a good, cured seconds (or large) like yours, and freshly made bars ... I'll take the cured. Freshly made can cause a bunch of damage to skin (I know you know, but seriously!)! Giving out "freshly made" soap is going to cause more damage to the soapmaking industry (and the customers/giftees) than your soaps!! FFS!

Rhetorical of course. And I'm sure it wasn't that 'fresh'...just inventory soap, not "unwanted" soap.

And that's the whole thing there...the majority of what goes into my box could go on the 'clearance' rack. Those six bars of Ancient Sedona...BB discontinued the FO (I know what it's like to discover something that you really like only to go back and it's gone). The manly green and brown swirl that I forgot to put the FO into. The Baby Powder that turned out to be more baby 'grey' than baby 'blue'. The Lollipop Swirl that turned into a lollipop plop. And my Honeysuckle...it was supposed to be a light shimmery yellow with a delicate orange swirl...NOT! It accelerated so badly that it was pretty much instant soap dough. At least I was able to get a chopstick through my Christmas soaps. LOL Speaking of Christmas Soaps...soap wise there was nothing wrong with Santa's Spruce...it was just a really ugly, ugly color. I waited three days in hopes the color would change, but nope...still looked like the worst of the Walking Dead so I tossed it...all 5lbs of it.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

You can’t fix stupid. I’m sure the recipients of your soap are grateful that you passed it along.

 

[Marsi]

Then it's just their opinion.

^what Mobjack Bay said

(Walking Dead soap )

 

[cmzaha]

Wow, I have nothing to say, but simply ignore these people. I just sold $100 of old soaps. I told my buyer they would not be labeled and not all would have a strong fragrance, he did not care in the least, he just wanted my soaps. At least I beveled them.

My daughter and I donated many soaps to shelters and they did not care in the least about their condition. They were happy to have them, especially the women's shelter. As they told us, the women most of the time left with clothes on their backs, and toiletries were very hard to come by.

 

[Becky1024]

I donate soap to the local food pantry. The director once told me that many clients have skin conditions but use the cheapest soap they can buy, so she is always happy to get my donations.

Mine isn’t off cuts, old bars, etc just because my family uses that up. But I have a deal with a local pig farmer to buy lard or pig fat at a low cost to make lard soap for the pantry. The soap I make is “old fashioned white soap.” All lard, no color, no scent.

 

[user 56512]

I recently got into a discussion with some other soap makers after one recommended pulling 'clearance' items before Christmas so they don't damage your 'business reputation' by people being gifted imperfect products. On one hand I understood where they were coming from, but on the other hand I thought it was a bit of an oxymoron because it was fine to do so the other ten months of the year. I said that my preference to simply donate soaps that didn't meet my selling standards and I mentioned my 'donation box' and how I cut my soaps in half and put half in a ziplock bag with a washcloth and leave the other half in a box and take them to my local homeless shelter.

The general consensus among the half dozen folks was that I was lower than a snake's belly by donating 'unwanted' items, that I was (paraphrased) "adding insult to injury to folks who were already feeling pretty low by donating something that was subpar". That last bit really confused me...so it was okay to sell stuff that is subpar, but not okay to donate it? And what are we supposed to do with 'unwanted' items...toss them in the landfill instead of passing them on to people who can use them?

I have never in my life donated anything that wasn't something that I wouldn't use or eat or wear myself or allow my family/friends to do the same. All the soap daughter and I use in this house on a daily basis comes from the donation box (hubby is dedicated to his Cantaloupe), and when the other kids come to visit they grab soap from the donation box. There is nothing wrong with the quality of the soap...it's my Regular recipe, but maybe I forgot to add the scent, or the scent has faded or it has been discontinued. Maybe the colorant morphed or the design didn't turn out. Maybe the plop was too thick to swirl (hello honeysuckle). Maybe I didn't get the first two or last two bars lined up correctly. And of course, it's where the majority of my 'test' soaps end up because they are 5oz bars while I sell 4oz. I could sell any of these soaps for at least cost, but I choose not too. Again, if I won't use the soap or give it to my ex (whom I truly dislike), I will toss it.

Good on you and bless you for donating your soaps. I have a whole drawer of perfectly good soap, for the same reason as you, that I've been giving to family and friends. i've been thinking about donating some to my local food bank but hesitated because, based in UK, I'm not sure of regulations around this. you've given me the incentive to find out and do it. especially at this time when so many are in need. carry on donating!

 

[dmcgee5034]

I thought it was a lovely idea, @TheGecko and plan to do the same. I know my local shelter always says they have enough peanut butter and need toiletries, so half size bars and a washcloth seems like a welcome donation. In the words of Taylor Swift, shake it off cuz the haters are gonna hate. You are doing good for people in need.

 

[Trinbago27]

I have a bag of soaps I also intended to donate, but started to get in my own head about having to list ingredients… it would be a lot of work to do so if I had to do that. Is that required for donations?

 

[TheGecko]

My daughter and I donated many soaps to shelters and they did not care in the least about their condition. They were happy to have them, especially the women's shelter. As they told us, the women most of the time left with clothes on their backs, and toiletries were very hard to come by.

Sanitary products are a critical need at homeless and women's shelters.

As I have said before, there is a big difference between dumping your garbage on folks and passing along good quality item that folks can use, and I never donate anything that I wouldn't wear, eat or use myself. I used to volunteer at a non-profit 'free' thrift shop and more than half of the stuff folks would drop off should have been taken straight to the dump. We'd put on N95 face masks and heavy-duty gloves before opening any boxes or bags.

I have a bag of soaps I also intended to donate, but started to get in my own head about having to list ingredients… it would be a lot of work to do so if I had to do that. Is that required for donations?

There are no requirements in the US for ingredients labels for 'true soap', but I still put one one...whether I'm selling or donating. I use a half sheet of paper for the box with a large font and my standard 'address' label for bags and wrapped bars. The homeless shelter and the church also gets a print out of the ingredients along with my contact information.

i've been thinking about donating some to my local food bank but hesitated because, based in UK, I'm not sure of regulations around this.

According to this ARTICLE the short answer is yes, but you would have to be in compliance with EU/UK legislation (assessment, registration, recordkeeping for PIF and GMP and insurance. Easy peasy if you are already a business, but ridiculous if you want to donate outside of your household.

 

[Michelle0803]

Twice I year I look deeply at sales numbers for soap with the intention of dropping scents that are not selling, I also look at other products that are not selling as I would like. I then reduce the price on those items for about 2 months. At the end of that time those products go into my donation bin. My kids and grandkids take out of that bin, we take out of there as well.

Soaps that are made that I don't like the look of, that don't smell as good as I had hoped or are not up to our standards also go into the donation bin. "Up to our standards" could be that a corner got dented, the size is not 1 inch, I don't like the top, the color was not what I wanted it to be.... you get the picture.

I donate those soaps to a local non-profit that helps homeless vets. They always appreciate them.

If anyone thinks that donating soaps that do not want to sell makes you anything less than a kind, thoughtful person, you should just ignore them because they clearly have a problem.

 

[cmzaha]

Sanitary products are a critical need at homeless and women's shelters.

As I have said before, there is a big difference between dumping your garbage on folks and passing along good quality item that folks can use, and I never donate anything that I wouldn't wear, eat or use myself. I used to volunteer at a non-profit 'free' thrift shop and more than half of the stuff folks would drop off should have been taken straight to the dump. We'd put on N95 face masks and heavy-duty gloves before opening any boxes or bags.

There are no requirements in the US for ingredients labels for 'true soap', but I still put one one...whether I'm selling or donating. I use a half sheet of paper for the box with a large font and my standard 'address' label for bags and wrapped bars. The homeless shelter and the church also gets a print out of the ingredients along with my contact information.

According to this ARTICLE the short answer is yes, but you would have to be in compliance with EU/UK legislation (assessment, registration, recordkeeping for PIF and GMP and insurance. Easy peasy if you are already a business, but ridiculous if you want to donate outside of your household.

When we donated to shelters we labeled with plain labeling.