This post isn't directly soap related, but it is in a way related to The Herbal Workshop's soaps because it has to do with the reason why I make these soaps the way they are, using the ingredients that I do.
This is more of a personal expression post- one that is near and dear to my heart, and that is the issue of organic agriculture principles, and on the flipside-- genetic modification and patenting of nature. The reason why The Herbal Workshop's soaps cost a dollar or few more than other soaps is because I buy nearly 100% of the oils that go into a bar of soap as the certified organic version. The two that I do not source organically are sweet almond and castor, and this is because the cost of these two oils if organic would drive up the cost of each bar drastically, making them much less affordable, and because they each make up only a small percentage of the recipe. For instance, a gallon of organic castor oil is $47.00 where as the non-organic version is $18.00. The organic coconut oil that I buy is about $18.00/gallon and the non-organic version is $13.00. You can see the difference between costs for these materials. Because only a small amount of sweet almond and castor oils are used in my recipe, I am preferring to make the bars more affordable, making a greater impact with the other majority ingredients. I still use these oils because they greatly add to the quality of the bar.
Genetic modification or engineering of plants/animals/humans/whatever!, while a different topic altogether, is one aspect of why I care about organic ingredients so much. I think this is one of the biggest issues of our time. It is shown to be detrimental to the environment (i.e. uses monoculture sites, creates sharp decreases in beneficial insects and soil microorganisms where GE crops are planted, to name a very few), to bodily systems as endocrine-disrupters, to the devastation of local culture, increases in suicide rates among farmers in India where experiments and implementation have been going on for decades, and despite all of that, has not even proven to be successful, with no higher crop yields as advertised. I want to post this lecture by Vandana Shiva from this January, 2013, at the University of Hawaii, for anyone interested. It is a wonderful, highly informative, inspiring talk, and is an informant on why I use the ingredients that I do. When/if Monsanto starts genetically engineering almonds and castor beans (if they aren't already?), I will stop using these oils if they enter the supply chain. And I don't know if they are working with olives, coconuts or palm fruits yet, but thankfully don't have to worry because of my organic sourcing, which with these materials also helps to ensure these ingredients aren't coming from sources that are destroying rainforests. (I realize that one can never be too sure, and so I promise to keep myself educated on this topic.) As Vandana Shiva says, "Eggplant is an Indian crop, so they [Monsanto] do Genetic Engineering of eggplant [...] Why did Monsanto choose eggplant to Genetically Engineer? Because it is native to India and we have 4,500 varieties. Why do they want to plant, by bully, on 6 million acres, Genetically Modified corn in Mexico? Because corn is the sacred crop of Mexico and the Andes. So it's basically, while the justification is 'we are doing science,' the reality is, they are unleashing a war against our sacred cultures."
