Medical claims from another soaper

[Bigmoose]

My wife and I did a 2 day craft show recently. On the 2nd day about 6 booths away I spotted a guy I thought I had seen before that helps his wife sell soaps at craft shows. I saw them first last year at a show in December and had not seen them again till now. We were a little busy but I reminded my wife to who they were and asked her to check them out because last year when I saw them they were making claims on what thier soap and other products would do and pushing the limit on that. When she came back she was shaking her head and said it was like walking into a medical clinic. She said that they made claims on thier products such as Insomnia, Eczema, Psoriasis, Dandruff and more. I don't think there are many soapers who can afford to have thier products tested to be able to make these claims. Do you think I should say or do anything next time I see them or just let them be who they are and walk away?

Your thoughts?

Bruce

 

[judymoody]

I'm with Gratia. I would steer clear. If customers approach you about whether or not your soaps have curative powers, you can educate those customers about what soaps can and cannot do without badmouthing the competition. A smart customer will be able to read between the lines.

 

[PrairieCraft]

I agree with gratia and JM. Educate everyone you come across about what soap really is/does and that 'some people' make claims that are not truthful. Avoid being sarcastic or making it obvious that you're talking about your competitor a few aisles over. Saying anything to these people would probably be a waste of your time and would cause bad feelings and energy with someone you have to work near. You don't need the stress of bothering with idiots ever and especially not these days.

 

[AmyW]

^all that.

Something along the lines of "the federal government doesn't let soap makers make medical or curative claims without expensive testing" and add in some legal to say perk to your soap "but our soap is all natural/organic/etc and gentle enough for all/most skin types".

 

[LauraHoosier]

I have a question and a maybe a help when selling. If a customer tells you"Hey your soap did this for me" can you ask them to write a testimonial and use that as part of your information at your booth? Like say put them in a binder titled "What our Customers Say"?

 

[Lynnz]

Yes it tis a frustrating issue indeed I have a lovely client who has started buying soap from a woman who sold her very FIRST batch!!!!! I so want to tell her to be really careful but it would open a big ugly can of worms for sure.

 

[Lotsofsuds]

I have a question and a maybe a help when selling. If a customer tells you"Hey your soap did this for me" can you ask them to write a testimonial and use that as part of your information at your booth? Like say put them in a binder titled "What our Customers Say"?

Customers always like to hear and read what others have to say about a product. It is nice to have available in my opinion.

As for the original question I agree I would just let it go. If a client asks you then address it.

 

[soapbuddy]

I would just let it go. If anyone asks you about your soaps, I would tell them that it's illegal to make any medical claims unless you have done extensive and expensive testing, which is out of reach to homecrafters. You can also send them to the FDA site, so they can see for themselves.

 

[sndrcr3]

I have a question and a maybe a help when selling. If a customer tells you"Hey your soap did this for me" can you ask them to write a testimonial and use that as part of your information at your booth? Like say put them in a binder titled "What our Customers Say"?

This is a really good question and one that I wouldn't mind finding out myself!

 

[Guest]

I was under the impression that to make such claims you could not label the product as "soap"

 

[sndrcr3]

I was under the impression that to make such claims you could not label the product as "soap"

As far as I know, if you make any medicinal/cosmetic claims about the soap, then you must be in compliance with the FDA. However, I don't know if customer testimonials count. I would think they do, simply for the fact that if you're pushing an idea that your soap is medicinal (ex: customer says "Your soap healed my acne!" and you advertise that statement) then you're still putting it out there as a potential healing product. But then again, you can't stop your customers from having their experiences and wanting to share them with others, so I really don't know for sure. I'd like to know what others think about this. I've come across alot of soapers that use customer testimonials that talk about the healing they've experienced from the product, and none of them appear to have the type of funding needed to come into compliance with the FDA (testing, proper manufactoring fascilities, etc). I'm not about to blow the whistle on anybody, as A- I don't know anyone's situation for certain and they might actually be in perfect compliance with the FDA, and B- it's not my business.

 

[carebear]

I was under the impression that to make such claims you could not label the product as "soap"

Of course you can. It's still soap. You must follow the regs for cosmetics, but you don't label it as a cosmetic.

 

[Guest]

I was under the impression that to make such claims you could not label the product as "soap"

Of course you can. It's still soap. You must follow the regs for cosmetics, but you don't label it as a cosmetic.

Well, if you are claiming the soap is anti acne, then you have to label it as a cosmetic and a drug and not as soap, according to the FDA. So no, if you make medical claims you are not supposed to label it as a soap. You CAN do whatever you want to, but according to the regulations you should not and if you get caught you will get fined.

http://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/guidanceco ... 074201.htm

 

[dagmar88]

I was under the impression that to make such claims you could not label the product as "soap"

Of course you can. It's still soap. You must follow the regs for cosmetics, but you don't label it as a cosmetic.

Well, if you are claiming the soap is anti acne, then you have to label it as a cosmetic and a drug and not as soap, according to the FDA. So no, if you make medical claims you are not supposed to label it as a soap. You CAN do whatever you want to, but according to the regulations you should not and if you get caught you will get fined.

http://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/guidanceco ... 074201.htm

It is still soap.
It's the labeling requirements and need for approval that change.

http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/GuidanceCo ... 074201.htm

 

[Guest]

I know it is still soap, but you have to label it differently. That is what the link says that I provided.