Can I buy your stuff in bulk and repackage? What are the minimums?

There is a $100 minimum for all wholesale orders. You can buy naked bars by the dozens, 120 case, or larger multiples. Check our Price List for tier discounts. Or we can add your package or label to our product. You can also purchase our liquid soaps, gel soaps and bath salts in 5 gal pails or 50 gal drums and fill and label your own bottles. We can also fill your bottles for you with a minimum purchase of 1400 bottles per product and scent. 1.5 to 2oz bottles have a 5400 piece minimum.

Can I send you my secret ingredients, special label, bottle or packaging materials, have you put it together for me, and send it to a location of my choosing?

Yes we can. Speak with one of our knowledgeable sales representatives for more information. Vermont Soap assumes no responsibility for the contents, accuracy, freshness, or amount of ingredients, packaging, or labeling materials sent to us for Private Label/Custom services. Our signature showing receipt of your goods does not mean that we have verified the accuracy of the contents of your material shipment.

Can you add my scent to your bar soap, liquid soap, shower gel, bath salts, spray misters?

Yes we can. You can send us your blend, or we can mix it here. We always recommend the use of natural essential oils over artificial fragrances for skin care.

Can I buy unscented bases in bulk and add my own scent/color/bottle?

Yes. Everything is available this way except the bar soaps, which need to be made from scratch at our factory in Middlebury, Vermont.

I want a special shipping box. Can you do that?

Yes, but there will be an extra charge. Please call for a quote.

I need you to send this order to my distributor in California for me. Can you do that?

Yes, just supply us with the complete ship to address & phone number. (And UPS or Freight Forwarders account number if available).

What are your minimums for a custom blend?

Bar soaps are made in 200 lb batches- about 800 3.5 oz bars. Plus there will be batch seconds, as well as trimmings and skimmings, which make good free samples. Gels and Liquid Soaps have a 1400 piece per scent minimum.

I like your soap but I want a different size.

We can make any 90 degree shape. Your soap is made from 70lb blocks that we cut down. Any square or rectangle shape can be made. We can also make "hockey puck discs" in various sizes.

Do you provide packaging?

We are not printers, nor graphic artists. We are very good soapmakers! Send us your labels or cartons (we have a network of printers and artists you can tap into), and we will do the rest. We DO have various unprinted soap cartons that you can add a label to.

Will you supply the essential oils I want? Will you sign a Confidentiality Agreement?

We can do this.

If I supply the essential oils do I have to tell you the exact scent blend?

Not at all. That is your proprietary information.

Will you change the base formula?

We like our base formulas! They have been painstakingly developed over the past 10 years.

OK -Yes, but the minimums are higher. Small changes are no problem, but a major formula change requires time and volume. 600 gal minimum for liquids and gels, A substantial commitment for a major bar soap base formula change. We charge a $1000 experiment fee to develop a new formula. The $1000 will not be credited toward your first order.

Can you put our logo on the bar?

This is tough, using our process. It is possible to hand stamp the bar while it is still soft. It is possible to hand pour into plastic molds. Neither are very cost effective. A small brick of soap could be hand stamped. It is far easier (and cheaper) to place a logo on packaging rather than the soap itself.

Can you make a bar into different shapes (animal, flowers, stars, etc...)

If you supply the molds (we can help you to source), we can pour them. However, the additional handling will add to the price of each bar.

We can send you soft soap strips you can stamp out with cookie cutters...

What do I get out of the experiment? What if I do not like the experiment. Is the experiment fee refundable?

CCustom Blends require that the pre-batch experiment to be approved prior to production. There is a $100.00 experiment fee, which gets you 5 basic non base formula changing experiments. Additional experiments are $35ea. Bar soap experiments yield several bars, liquid and gel experiments typically yield 8oz.

How much will shipping be? What is your minimum requirement for free shipping?

Sorry, no free shipping. We ship UPS and common carrier. Our Shipping Department will help you to get the best price for your situation.

How long will it take to receive my order?

All wholesale orders ship within 2-3 business days. For custom blends/ Private Labeling: it depends on what you want and how much. Bar soaps require a 30 day cure time, so ordering 6 weeks in advance is recommended. Liquid and Gel bulk orders usually ship within two weeks. If we are bottling or packaging for you add an extra week to ten days.

Are you insured?

Vermont Soap is insured for product liability. If our stuff hurts someone, we are covered. You can obtain added protection for any potential harm caused by Vermont soap products by asking to be named as Additional Insured on our policy. This costs $55/year. You should always carry your own business insurance as well.

What is the Shelf Life of your products?

Heat, humidity, air and ultraviolet light are the enemies of all natural stuff. Store in a cool, dry place; seal master cases between restocking. Keep stock rotated and fresh. Bar soaps and sprays will last 1 year or more. Liquid soaps and gels 2 years or more. To test for shelf life, we place the product into a box heated to 105F. We keep it in their day and night. If the bars are still viable after 6-8 weeks, and the liquids and gels are still viable after 8-10 weeks, we call it a success. Various essential oils will extend shelf life. Freezing will extend shelf life indefinitely.

Why don't handmade soaps lather like regular bars?

1. There is an inverse relationship between lather and moisture. Increase moisture and you decrease lather. Handmade soaps have a lot of moisture by their nature. Lather is not their strongest point - mildness is. Castile Liquid Soaps and Gels are less moisturizing, and have more lather, than handmade bar soaps.
2. Some water is harder (minerals) than others. Hard water gives poor lather. (this is part of why detergents dominate mass market)
3. Soap lathers best in warm/hot water and less in cold
4. Hairy people make more lather! Smooth skinned people (and more women than men) often use a loofa or bath puff to enhance lather.
5. Handmade soap cured LONGER will lather better, due to the decreased moisture content. The older the bar, the better it lathers (but the scent lessens over time). Different batches will have slightly different lather qualities due to atmospheric irregularities. Soaps made during a high pressure system lather a bit better than those made in low pressure. Humditity will effect how quickly a bar cures, which effects latherability.
6. Soaps with mud, clay, honey, or lots of chunky stuff are harder to work into a lather. Aloe vera makes a creamy, small bubbled lather. Milk proteins are similar, but with larger, looser bubbles. Citrus oils enhance lather slightly.
7. Soap formulas that are high in coconut oil lather better, but the more coconut oil you use, the harsher the soap.

What are your mildest soaps?

Handmade bar soaps are the mildest form of soap that can be made. Raising their free oil content by using added cocoa, shea, mango avocado, or other vegetable butters, hemp, black seed or other light oils at 1% to 3%, will enhance the "hand lotion in soap effect". Be sure to use extra rosemary extract to preserve free oils. Aloe vera, comfrey, milk proteins, oatmeal, beta glucans proteins etc. contain natural anti-inflammatory ingredients that help soothe irritated skin. Essential oils have varying degrees of astringency. Lavender tends to relax pores (better for dry skin), peppermint closes pores (oily skin), while the citrus family runs in the middle (combination skin). Our Castile LIQUID soap base is milder than the competition, but our Castile GEL base is significantly milder than the liquid version, due to the extra glycerine it contains. Our mildest bars are the Butter Bar, Oats n Aloe Unscented, and Oatmeal Lavender, in that order.

What is the pH of our soaps?

All soaps are alkaline by their nature. The higher pH of soaps discourages microbes. That is why we only need to preserve with rosemary extract (for rancidity). Handmade soaps are 10.01. Castile Liquids 9.7-9.8 typically. Castile Gels 9.5-9.6

Is this higher pH bad for my skin?

Not at all! It is Free Alkali, NOT the normal pH of good soap, that dries out your skin (formula and process will also effect skin dryness). Do not believe marketers who tell you skin care products must be pH neutral or acidic.

What about Organic Private Label?

Whenever a private label customer wants us to package our organic soap or their custom blend into their packaging for them, there should be no problem getting the organic labeling approved. We just have to confirm that none of the additional ingredients in the custom blend are prohibited in organic production, and the total percentage of organic ingredients to non-organic ingredients is 70% or more. Vermont Soap will submit the paperwork for the item and have it added to our list of certified products that are approved by Vermont Organic Farmers (VOF) our USDA certified third-party organic certification agency. NOTE: This will require total disclosure by the private label customer of all ingredients and the amounts used in proprietary fragrance blends, and will allow the product label to state "Made with Organic Oils" on the front panel. The USDA also requires the words "Certified by VOF" or "Certified by Vermont Organic Farmers" to appear below or next to the company information on the back or side of the label. This way the consumer knows who conducted the third-party organic verification. There is also the option of using the term "USDA Approved" in this area as well. Vermont Soap charges a yearly $50 per SKU charge for this service. Almost all Vermont Soap products may be repackaged with Private Labeling and the organic ingredients noted in the ingredient list without the need for any additional certification or fees. If a private label customer wants us to ship them our organic soap so they can then add their own additional ingredients and then package it themselves, AND they want to make an organic front panel claim, they will have to go through a certification process similar to what Vermont Soap has gone through. As above, the customer can pick the certifying agency of their choice. The certification process will not be as comprehensive as the process Vermont Soap has gone through, but they will need to get certified by someone before placing "Made with Organic Oils" on the front panel. They will also have to mention their certifying agency on the product label and stating "USDA Approved" should not be a problem should they choose to do so. If a private label customer wants us to ship them our organic soap so they can then add their own additional ingredients and then package it themselves, they will have to go through a certification process similar to what Vermont Soap has gone through. As above, the customer can pick the certifying agency of their choice.

What is a natural mineral pigment?

Most cosmetics are colored with FD&C colors or Lake colors (same thing only Lake colors are non FDA inspected). These are made from coal tar dyes, which in turn are made from the residue of making "coke", the fuel that turns iron into steel. Converting coal to coke for the steel industry results in millions of pounds of coal tar residues, a major pollutant. Coal tars contain benzene and phenols - cancer causing chemicals that would not be allowed loose on the American public if coal tar colors were not "grandfathered" in, due to irregularities in the FDA regulations. Many companies label their FD&C colored children's products as "Non-Toxic". Some consider this disingenuous. Mineral colors offer a safer, though by no means organic alternative. These are iron oxide derivatives - relatives to rust. Mineral colors are considered much safer and somewhat more natural. We use them in a few of our natural soaps, but they are not allowed for use in Organically Certified products. High end "natural color lines" (blushes etc) are made from mineral colors as a more natural alternative. To make mineral colors, dissolve scrap iron in sulfuric acid and neutralize with Potassium Hydroxide (KOH). Add trace metals to change the resulting colors.

You will have to decide for yourself whether mineral pigments are "natural" or not, as no legal definition of natural exists to date. Certainly, they are not organic. Definitely, they are safer than FD&C colors. When in doubt - go with USDA Certified Organic. It is the best and safest definition we have.