Labeling requirements - REALLY frustrated and confused

[RockCreek]

I will soon be interested in selling my soap and have lately been scoping out exactly how to do this.

My understanding is that handcrafted soap must conform with the Consumer Product Safety Commission labeling requirements. These include:
1. the word 'soap' on the front panel
2. the net weight located underneath that on the front panel
3. the name of the business on the back panel
4. the address of the business on the back panel

I'm discovering that many soapmakers aren't conforming with the letter of the law on these labeling requirements. That goes for handcrafted soapmakers as well as the 'big boys' in some instances. For example, Pre de Provence has simply the business name stamped on the front with the weight and business address on the back. How do they get away with this?

Further, many handcrafted soaps sold at local farmers markets, on Etsy, etc. have very little information on their packaging (if any!), and almost none have the business address.

A few questions:
Is this just a matter of soapmakers not being aware of the law?
Or, are they aware of the law but it's just not enforced?
Am misunderstanding something (entirely possible

)?

I guess the bottom line is that I want to conform with applicable laws, but I want to preserve a clean uncluttered design too.

Why should I conform with unenforced laws that most everybody else seems comfortable with ignoring?

 

[shunt2011]

I list everyting on my labels. The only thing lacking is my full address but I do list my city/state and my phone # as well as my email address and website. I list the weight and all ingredients.

 

[dagmar88]

Why should I conform with unenforced laws that most everybody else seems comfortable with ignoring?

If "everybody else" keeps going on with total disregard to the little requirements there are, I'll bet you the exemption for labeling soap will eventually end.

 

[girlishcharm2004]

I don't list my home address on the soaps because it's not a business! My business does not have an physical address other than an Etsy virtual address. They can contact me -- I think that's the point.

I think you're thinking a little too legalistically about the placement of the words. For example, "soap" being "on the front panel". Three of the items fall naturally for me: my name (on my logo), the name of the soap (e.g. "Homesteaders' Soap"), and where to contact me (etsy address). The thing I would forget is the weight, but that's also part of remembering to tell your customers what they're buying.

What really gets to me is when melt and pour soapers don't put their ingredients on their "soaps"! Many, if not most, commercial melt and pour bases are made from synthetic detergents (e.g. sodium laurel sulfate). They don't fall under the legal definition of soap.

 

[judymoody]

I don't sell but I label according to the law. The only exception is that I include my name, city, and state but not my street address. If somebody wants to find me, I'm easy enough to google.

 

[pamielynn]

I don't sell but I label according to the law. The only exception is that I include my name, city, and state but not my street address. If somebody wants to find me, I'm easy enough to google.

Yep - me too.
I don't list the word "soap" on the front either, but I do a full INCI on the back. Weight on the front, name on front. Actually, my address is on the side and web address on back. Whatevs - all the info is there - full disclosure on ingredients (into the pot) and enough contact info to hunt me down.

 

[RockCreek]

The responses so far confirm my suspicion that people adhere to the law to the degree they feel necessary and interpret it accordingly. It seems that people include what they feel is important and disregard the rest.

From a convenience and marketing point of view I understand the motivation for doing so. However, I'm afraid that the law is the law and there is no other way but to look at legalistically. I just want to get this all sorted out before I commit to doing one thing or another.

 

[Paintguru]

Laws all require interpretation. That is what courts are for. FYI, here is an interesting quote from pertaining to cosmetic labeling. Bolding is from me:

http://bittercreekcandle.blogspot.com/2012/07/labeling-your-products.html

The name and place of business of the firm marketing the product must be stated on an information panel of the label (21 CFR 701.12). The address must state the street address, city, state, and zip code. If a firm is listed in a current city or telephone directory, the street address may be omitted.

 

[girlishcharm2004]

But, there's still the problem of the business name and the home address together.

According to the FDA, cosmetics need to be labeled as such. Soaps are not considered cosmetics and are therefore not governed by the FDA.

"Products that meet this definition of soap are regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), not by FDA. Please direct questions about these products, such as safety and labeling requirements, to CPSC." (source http://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/guidancecomplianceregulatoryinformation/ucm074201.htm)

I couldn't find anything on the Consumer Safety Commission website. I sent them an email and am waiting for a reply...

However, if you also sell lip balm, then you're back at square one.

But tell me, do you swear you NEVER drive over or under [insert speed limit here] on the road??? Or, do you "adhere to the law to the degree [you] feel necessary and interpret it accordingly." I'm just curious...

 

[girlishcharm2004]

I'd like to add to my comment. I'm not sure about everywhere else, but where I live you can get pulled over for:
1. Driving above/below the speed limit
2. Not driving according to conditions
3. Not driving according to the flow of traffic

If it's raining and I'm driving at the speed limit, am I going to get pulled over? You bet.
If I'm driving under the speed limit and my car still skids on ice, can I get pulled over? Yep.
If I stand out as the person racing down the freeway or crawling along with a line of cars behind me, is it possible I'll get pulled over? Uh-huh.

The point is safety -- not legalism. But, I'm not stopping you from cluttering your design. :wink:

 

[RockCreek]

Girlishcharm I'm right there with you. I'm frustrated by the fact that seemingly reputable soapmakers in my area dont follow the regs either.

As for the comparison to driving the speed limit, the thing with labeling requirements is that theyre sort of an untested entity for me as a newbie. I know how fast over the limit I can drive here locally without getting a ticket. But when I go to a new jurisdiction I go the speed limit until I get a good feel for interpretation and enforcement with an eye on safety the whole time of course.

Or another analogy would be being the new guy at work. Even if other workers leave ten minutes early on Friday I as a new worker wouldnt dare leave early myself until I was there for a few months first to prove myself. Maybe thats a bad example now that I read it, but hopefully you see my hesitation at diving into an unknown headfirst.

Sent from my GT-P5113 using Soap Making mobile app

 

[girlishcharm2004]

Ah, I understand your hesitation! If it's any consolation, ingredients are not required to be listed on true soaps. You could replace the ingredients list with your address to preserve your design. At shows, you could have a pamphlet of the basic ingredients you use (and why they're superior, or course!). That way if they don't buy, they can still walk away with some information about your shop. It's just a thought.

 

[WAsoaps]

About weight... not all bars of soap in a batch will be the same. Can we just give an approximate weight? (Like the average weight of the entire batch?)

Because it seems like this would be such a problem when it comes to having labels printed off! I want everything to look neat. I don't want to have to hand write the weights of each soap on their labels.

 

[MaitriBB]

Like I always tell my kids, you can't control what other people do; you can only control how you respond to it.

In other words, don't bat an eyelash at what other soapmakers or big businesses do. They're responsible for their own packaging. You're responsible for yours. Personally, I follow the law, because at the end of the day, if someone calls the FDA on me, I'm the one who has to answer for my choice of packaging. I can't say, "But XYZBigBusiness doesn't label their soaps that way so I shouldn't have to either!"

I can see being frustrated that others get away with not following the law, but I won't disregard legal requirements just to have an uncluttered label.