5 Benefits of Sustainably Sourced Soap

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the protection of our environment through sustainable practices is vital to support both current and future generations. There are easy changes people can make to shrink their ecological footprint. Swapping from a mass-produced body wash to a sustainably sourced soap is one small step someone can take towards living a more eco-friendly lifestyle. The following list contains five of the biggest benefits that the simple act of switching to an environmentally friendly soap can have for the planet.

1. Less Waste

Few people stop to think about how much waste is involved in commercial body washes. Plastic goes into the bottles, the labels, the lids, and often the bags used to take it home from the store and dispose of the empty bottle after it's been used. All of this waste ends up in landfills, where it sits for decades. Environmentally friendly soap lacks all of that packaging waste and prevents a great deal of non-biodegradable trash.

2. Rainforest Protection

Most commercially available soaps contain palm oil. Unfortunately, palm oil is so valuable that many companies are intentionally burning down rainforests to plant oil palms. This is devastating for the endangered animals, like orangutans, that rely on rainforests to survive. Sustainable bar soap does not contain palm oil, which makes it the obvious eco-friendly choice.

3. Cleaner Water

Sustainably sourced soap isn't just good for cleaning people, it also helps keep waterways clean. Synthetic chemicals found in commercial soaps don't biodegrade before they get washed into rivers, lakes, and oceans. These chemicals are toxic to fish, as well as to the animals and insects that drink from these tainted water sources. Environmentally friendly soap uses naturally-derived ingredients that are safe for people and animals.

4. Reduced Emissions

Because individual soap makers use sustainable practices to craft their products, they produce fewer emissions than corporations that rely on the large-scale output of factories. The lack of packaging mentioned above further reduces the carbon footprint of the soap's manufacturing process. Sustainable bar soap also tends to weigh less and take up less space than most common liquid soaps. This means it takes less energy to ship, making it a truly eco-friendly choice.

5. Consuming Less

Products that last longer are better for more than just the budget of the person who buys them. A bottle of liquid hand soap may last an average family for less than a month. A bar of hand soap can last for six weeks if it's stored properly in a dish that keeps it from sitting in water. Because it lasts longer, people buy less of it, which reduces the waste and emissions mentioned above. It also means less soap is being washed down drains, which is always a good thing, even if the soap is eco-friendly.