Shipping Quandary...

There are decisions to make in every aspect of life and business, and it is all too easy to make them lightly... But it can also be a never ending abyss once you delve in. One problem we have pondered on and off has to do with the best way to package our products for shipping. 
There are many things to consider here: cost for the customer; protection of the products; cost to the environment; ease of use... As always, we believe we should reduce, re-use, and recycle as much as possible.

Shipping adds a lot to the cost of a product, especially small and inexpensive, but relatively heavy, item like bars of soap. You can raise the price of the soap to absorb some of this, but that requires price changes at least annually to match the variable cost of shipping. 
We want the package to arrive in good shape, with nothing damaged, smeared, or otherwise different than when we packed it. This means it has to be well padded, fairly snug so it doesn't shift around in transit, and that the packing materials are clean.
To keep the packaging costs down we want the packing material to be light in weight. The lightest packing materials are those styrofoam packing peanuts, bubble wrap and bags of air. However, these are all products that will end up in a landfill, slowly, if ever, breaking down. Not to mention plastic is a petroleum derivative. Not the most environmentally friendly stuff.
OK, so there is crumpled or shredded paper. Crumpled paper compresses, so there is limited use for it. If there is much gap between the soap and the box the weight of the paper it takes to secure the soap can raise the shipping cost considerably. It doesn't help that for all the shippers one ounce over a pound equals 2 pounds, as far as postage goes. 

And then there is the problem of acquiring (and disposing of) the packing materials. The price we pay is part of the price the customer must pay in the end. Clean shredded plain paper is hard to come by here, it's tough to find inexpensive rolls of newsprint anymore, and used newspaper has a problem with ink coming off onto the labels of the soap. 

This also has to take into consideration the cost on the environment. We certainly don't want to encourage the production of more plastic or styrofoam, neither do we want it to end up in a landfill. When we have plain, recycled paper, and in orders where it's weight doesn't add appreciably to the postage, we know it can be re-used, recycled, or will break down into organic matter when tossed in the landfill.

We have looked at different specific eco-friendly packaging materials but, with the small spaces we have to fill and other requirements, they often didn't work for our particular purpose. That doesn't mean they won't work for you - for examples, see: PrairieEcopak™ , EnviroPAK custom molded packaging, and GlobeGuard™ (who also have wonderful recycled cardboard boxes). We use the kraft paper Sizzle Pak shown as fill in gift baskets.
UPDATE: A new resource - EcoEnclose which carries and assortment of eco-friendly packaging for breakable items.


Lightweight, effective, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly. It seems like it should be simple...
But is it better to get new paper with the energy cost of its manufacturing process, or re-use packing peanuts that almost never break down and can be used over and over, keeping them in circulation and out of the landfill - at least for now?
And many people hate the packing peanuts, yet already feel that shipping costs are high and don't want to pay more for the weight incurred by using paper or cardboard. As I said - its a quandary.
 
We have toiled with these issues for years, always done the best we can, and are please we may have finally come up with the best possible solution for us. Introducing Geami packaging! This lightweight, expanded kraft paper and tissue packing material amazingly doesn't seem to compress and fits in the small spaces we need to fill.


So here is what we are doing:
1) Reused or Recycled cardboard boxes, including the US Postal Service's "Cradle to Grave"*certified boxes. All re-usable or recyclable & biodegradable.
2) 100% Post consumer waste (PCW) invoices, labels and shipping labels. All recyclable & biodegradable.
3) Re-used poly-styrene packing peanuts/bubble wrap, etc (rather than throwing in the landfill what comes to us in other packages).
4) Environmentally friendly Geami packaging. All re-usable, recyclable, or biodegradable..


All this puts us just one step closer to having a completely sustainable business from start to finish.
* from Wikipedia:  

Cradle-to-grave is the full Life Cycle Assessment from manufacture ('cradle') to use phase and disposal phase ('grave'). For example, trees produce paper, which can be recycled into low-energy production cellulose (fiberised paper) insulation, then used as an energy-saving device in the ceiling of a home for 40 years, saving 2,000 times the fossil-fuel energy used in its production. After 40 years the cellulose fibers are replaced and the old fibers are disposed of, possibly incinerated. All inputs and outputs are considered for all the phases of the life cycle.

Get your natural & organic soaps sent to you in eco-friendly packaging from the greenest soapmakers on Earth! Simmons Natural Bodycare.

New Dawn

Just a morning hello.
Some excitement here!
We had a relatively major earthquake on Saturday (January 2, 2010). No missing this one, a 6.5 26 miles offshore (so about 75 miles or so from us), with a long serious roll. First one since the big trio of 1992 where I was ready to go outside. I chose a doorway, as it was my volunteer dispatch weekend and I needed to stay by my phone and radio especially if this was a potential natural disaster.

The Earth speaks. Nature still has the mightier hand. And the lesson to learn is to be able to accept uncertainty, work with the now, be prepared for anything, and fear not. It is all part of our life and living as humans in the world. And makes for some pretty interesting adventure as well.

Please check out an earlier post: Rolling Along

In my humble opinion, to "be here now", to accept each moment as it is, is not a philosophy of complacency. It is understanding that as things happen you are given the opportunity to work with what is, not with what you want, fear, or otherwise predict may be. It propels you to act in synchronicity with the world around you. And it makes it more fun!

Life's an adventure, rejoice in it.

Working today for Tomorrow...

In our ongoing effort to provide the highest quality all natural soap that is affordable for everyday use and the very best for the environment, we have long wanted to include organic base oils in our formula. The problem was these oils were so much more costly it would make our soaps a luxury item rather than an everyday one. Over the years when we were able to get organic oil for a competitive price, we used it without any fanfare. However, now that we can assure a steady supply that will not overly increase our price to you we are proud to announce that, in addition to being healthy to use, our soaps are now even healthier for the planet.

Making EveryDay Special

New for 2010 every batch of Simmons special Soap is now made with Organic Olive oil, Organic Coconut oil and Palm oil from Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified plantations. (We are not convinced that Organic palm, currently sourced from Brazil, is not implicated in the destruction of Rainforest). This will guarantee that precious agricultural resources are not damaged in the production of the oils that make our soap.

Over the last 6 months we ran an online survey regarding Organic vs Conventional Natural soap. While the results were mixed, having organic ingredients was definitely important to the majority of respondents. While most were not interested in paying a premium price for it, they were divided 50/50 about using organic soap daily if they had to pay more. And 60% of the comments noted the importance of organics for the health of the environment.

Our own desire to support the environment through organic farming and other sustainable agriculture was tempered by our desire to stay in business and serve our customers the best product at the best price. Well, with the new year came the opportunity we were waiting for, organic oils costs are now competitive with the conventional oils we were using. For a minimal cost we can make a maximal change in our commitment to the planet.

Now, from the renewable energy system that powers our home and business to the base oils that make our soap, we can bring you a premium product with the smallest environmental impact.

Take our "Shop Tour" and "learn more about our family business".

A New Decade!

A new year and a whole new decade! We are happy to start anew this year. Last year was intense and we are glad to move forward.
So we start the year traditionally (for us) with music and our community of friends.
The first day of the year is leisurely clean up from the festivities and we move forward from there to embrace this day, our future, come to the Now.
I have a personal belief that the first week of the year is an indicator - omen, if you will - of how the year will be as a whole. Therefore I try very hard to live those first 7 days as consciously as possible.
This morning I was sent a link that reinforced the idea of approaching each moment open to the possibilities and beauty contained within it "Celebrate What's Right with the World" . This is really my philosophy, but as with all things, it is easier said than done. But each year I get closer.
Besides, worry and guilt and angst over what has not happened yet or what is behind us really is only a waste of life. And the difference between joy and despair is often just a matter of perception.

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." - Marcel Proust

Self-Employment Health Care Blues

I can't believe it. People are letting the corporations scare them into complacency over changing our health care system.

Follow the money and you can see that the insurance companies and drug companies have a lot to lose. They are lobbying hard, advertising like mad, and spreading the message that a single-payer plan, a public option, expanded Medicare, or any other idea that doesn't increase the profitability of their interests - is a bad idea.
They are taking advantage of the fact that you can easily scare people into believing anything. Well, Roosevelt was right, "we have nothing to fear but fear itself". As a tool to manipulate people it has no peer.

Well, here's the deal from my vantage point:
As a self employed person who belongs to no other group I cannot get reasonably priced health insurance with any kind of real coverage. That's if I could. I have been denied because I have a condition that is not life threatening that is common to about 80% of women over 40. Ridiculous.
I believe that deciding to provide basic health care to all Americans is a moral duty of our Government. I would be thrilled it a unified Congress would just issue the statement that they believe Health Care is a right of the American Citizen and that they intend to work to make it a reality. Then they can fight all they want about how to get the job done.

There are lots of working models around the world to choose from. In the book, "The Healing of America", the 4 main models are described, pro and con. Hopefully we can take the good parts and make something that fits our American culture. But the key is reigning in the Insurance and Pharmaceutical corporations that are currently pulling all the strings. Talk about holding all the cards! These businesses can afford to pay to influence political leaders at all levels and to influence, quite successfully, the citizens as well, through advertising and what can only be called propaganda - promoting their self-interests.

Read this article for some insight about how Big Business uses Madison Avenue to control the direction of our Socio-Political future.

But I don't despair. I believe by getting the ball rolling towards Health Care reform we have an opportunity for future changes. And if we, the People, actually rise up from complacency and work actively toward what I consider part of our Nation's founding ideals. From the Preamble of the Constitution (In interpreting whether the proposed project constituted a "public use", the court pointed to the Preamble's reference to "promot[ing] the general Welfare" as evidence that "[t]he health of the people was in the minds of our forefathers". ( Ellis v. City of Grand Rapids. ) , and the Declaration of Independence as well; "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness". If "Life" does not include basic Health Care protection against preventable death I think we are missing the point.

Ah well. There is a lot of information out there for everyone to see. Do the research and make up your own mind how you would like to see our nation treat it's citizens in this regard.