Visionary Soap is the UK’s leading fair trade body care company whose whole range carries the FAIRTRADE Mark. Our company has been entirely dedicated to fair trade since the business’ inception in May 2005. Our products consist of an organic body care range handcrafted in the UK and abroad using ingredients from producers in Palestine, India, Ghana, Nicaragua, The Dominican Republic, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and South Africa.
Among the first pioneering body care companies to use Fairtrade certified ingredients, all of our products – 38 in total – have been certified in accordance with international Fairtrade standards, more than any other company in our industry at present. Furthermore, all products have been specifically formulated to contain a very high percentage of Fairtrade ingredients, well above the minimum set requirement of 2% for a wash off and 5% for a leave on product. Our soaps, on average, contain 60% Fairtrade ingredients, body butters – 99 to 100%, lip balms - 34%, body oils - 19% and our gardener’s hand salve – 34%. When others do the bare minimum, we strive instead for the maximum. As more ingredients are certified, we are committed to incorporating them into our products, thus boosting these percentages and supporting our Fairtrade producers even more!
None of our products contain palm oil, synthetic dyes or fragrances, parabens, petroleum-based ingredients, alcohol, sodium laureth sulfate or animal products. They are also GMO and gluten free. They are simply made with the finest vegetable oils, butters, essential oils and botanicals. All products have been safety assessed and comply with current EU regulations as well as being fully certified by The Vegan Society and, of course, are cruelty-free. We take our packaging very seriously as well and always strive for it to be as eco-friendly as possible, whether that be recyclable, compostable, reusable and plastic-free.
Visionary Soap Company is also very committed to value-added job creation in communities abroad and locally. We have forged innovative manufacturing partnerships with social enterprise training programmes in Africa and our community of Hastings, East Sussex. The production of handcrafted soap presents several opportunities for supporting sustainable development, particularly in places such as Africa. Aside from the natural ingredients involved (often locally sourceable), there is a low barrier to entry in terms of equipment needed, water and energy usage is minimal - highly important in communities where these resources are often scarce - and it provides a relatively safe, holistic working environment for all involved. Production also requires a team effort and plenty of helping hands, thus the potential to create a lot of jobs in marginalised, isolated areas with high unemployment. Our founder is passionate about social justice, the natural environment and enabling people through trade. The cornerstone of our business is fair trade and we take that further by welcoming groups into our supply chain, enabling and entrusting them to produce our Fairtrade certified body care products.
We supply an ever-growing list of independent retailers through various distributors- Essential Trading Cooperative, Suma Wholefoods, Rainbow Wholefoods, Highland Wholefoods and The Fairtraders Cooperative. Our products are stocked by the likes of Waitrose, Ethical Superstore, Traidcraft, Oxfam GB, Oxfam Ireland and Amnesty International. We also have an increasing number of international stockists as more people hear about us and embrace our vision.
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