Growing up in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, in the 1970s, Rob Costello and Geoff Kerouac found themselves immersed in a hotbed of alternative, hippy and punk culture. This proved to be fertile ground for radical, political thought and social and environmental awareness, still deeply held to this day.

It came naturally to them to rally against the capitalist model and strive to find a fairer way of doing things. And, living in such picturesque countryside as they did, they also felt an instinctive connection to nature.

These values led them, later in life to, work at Suma Wholefoods Co-operative. An experience that proved invaluable, putting real substance behind their ideas. Here they learned that it really is possible to run a successful business where ethics come before profit.

Now inspired, motivated and environmentally aware, they were ready for the next step, an ethically-based business of their own. Here was a chance for them to live out their ideals and give something honest and good back to the world.

For Rob and Geoff, making soap is about so much more than manufacturing a product. It is a constant process of learning, improving and refining, in order to make as little impact on nature and health as possible.

Friendly soap are committed to producing soaps that contain no animal products or by-products. They are also completely against testing cosmetics on animals and are registered with Cruelty Free International and The Vegan Society.

They use the ancient cold-process method of soap making, which creates a biodegradable soap with zero by-products. There is literally no waste. Everything gets used up and turned into lovely Friendly Soap. Striving always to minimise their impact on the environment, they use as little energy as possible throughout production – every bar of Friendly Soap is poured, cut, stamped and packed by hand, in the UK.

Friendly Soap is made using naturally biodegradable ingredients – unlike commercial detergents that contain synthetic chemicals, that are literally flushed into our rivers. Friendly Soap are totally opposed to using harmful preservatives or foaming agents, believing there is simply no need for SLS or Parabens. The incredible silky smooth lather these natural handmade soap produces and their long life are completely down to the cold process method and our careful choice of ingredients.

Friendly soap will never use Palm Oil and believe the best thing for the rainforests, its animals and the earth is to avoid it entirely. Friendly Soap also buy their Shea Butter from a women’s worker cooperative in Ghana and the Coconut Oil in Friendly soap is not produced using slave monkeys to pick the fruit. Yes, in some places, this actually happens.

By constantly scrutinising their production methods and working practices, they take little steps towards their goal of producing a zero impact natural soap and business model that benefits the planet, its animals and its people.

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