If You Love Lush You'll Love These! (The Shetland Soap Company)

Member Name: Machair1

Product:	The Shetland Soap Company
Date:	08/01/09 (70 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gorgeous smelling toiletries mostly natural and 50% of the work force are disabled.

Disadvantages: None

Described on their website as "a young emerging handmade soap and skincare company" this innovative business is producing lovely items which all reflect the nature and the landscape which surrounds them.

Located in the Shetland Islands these windswept shores are 600 miles north of London. Indeed so remote they also have ferry and air services to Norway, Iceland, The Faroes, and Denmark. In the summer there are 19 hours of day light and in the winter only 5, and the islands are steeped in history and tradition. This month will see UP-HELLY-AA the festival held each January where 800 men with lighted torches set fire to a replica of a Viking longship. The islands have wild ponies, and otters, and the landscape is beautiful and majestic.


Being so far away from the mainland Shetland has become proactive in looking at the needs of the disabled population.Through the setting up of an organisation called Cope it has been looking at ways to find productive employment for individuals, particularly those with autism, so that they can enjoy happy and self sufficient lives. Cope which is part of an international organisation has set up many businesses in Shetland such as garden centres supplying plants for windy places, recycling initiatives which run along side and are supplementary to the council work helping them to maintain their targets. There are wormeries and coffee grinders to name but a few but The Shetland Soap Company is the one which caught my attention and is the focus of this review.

The work force of this company is 50% disabled and what they produce is quite simply exquisite. The ethos of the company is twofold. Firstly to provide some products which are purely natural, these are only scented with natural oils. Then to make bubble baths and shower gels where any necessary additives are food grade and they use the smallest amounts to create the effect they want. This means they are moisturising and kind to the skin. All their products have the most beautiful names- Summer Rain bubble bath, Shetland Kiss Shower Gel, and for the men- Gale Force Shower Gel which I quote from the website- "The warm & sultry fragrance of this masculine hair & body wash is proving a real hit with the ladies!" There are shampoos and skin creams and pure soaps too with names like Sheltie Sunshine and there are bath fizzes like Rose Bath Melts which rival Lush bath bombs as they explode creating a scent of beautiful floral petals.

I sent off for an order last week and it arrived within 2 days. Amazing- all the way from Shetland so a superb delivery service. In my order which was beautifully packed I received several items which I have tried and are quite simply wonderful! The Summer Rain Bubble Bath smells like new mown grass and has bergamot and orange oils. The Shetland Kiss Shower Gel which I bought was introduced for Valentines Day last year but has proved so popular it has now being made all year round. This is a coconut and grapefruit shower gel which smells good enough to eat! For my winter battered hands I bought the rose and vanilla hand wash and now my hands smell like a summer rose garden. I treated hubby to some Crofters Soap and my son is going to receive the Gale Force Shower Gel for his birthday! Everything I received is just gorgeous and I can't wait to compile my next order. The choice is wide too so there is always something to choose from. Price wise it is similar to Lush,somethings being cheaper.
www.shetlandsoap.co.uk

The company is very successful because in Shetland in the summer months the tourist market is buoyant and they have a branch in Lerwick itself where you can walk in and buy some. They have also got an outlet for the soap in Orkney and the soap there has names more biased towards their landscape. such as "Island Mist" and "Man of Hoy".

The local population support the company very well and initially this was because they wanted to support the social enterprise element, but soon realized how wonderful the products were and now have become loyal and recurring shoppers. With the website they have worldwide customers and they also supply wholesale to shops including the one at the Scottish parliament.

It is estimated that in the next 10 years there will be a 10% increase in the number of autistic people in Shetland and with this in mind the soap company can look forward to a very loyal work force going forward. The nature of the work they do which is so labour intensive means that it is particularly suited to the disability some of the work force have and the repetitive tasks they do are rewarding to them.

Although I love shops like Lush and The Body Shop I am now set on a course which will be difficult to alter if these products continue to delight in the way that they have so far. I think along with some more of my favourite haunts I will be looking north in future for my toiletries and I don't think it will be long before I pay them a personal visit as it is somewhere I have wanted to go for a long time!

Summary: A wonderful company who are producing top class toiletries.