Candle Diva

Why I oppose the 'Safe Cosmetics Act' of 2010

2010-08-19T20:38:00.001-05:00

This was originally written by a friend, Tina Glenn of Faerie Made Soaps. She so eloquently put the words together and we soap and bath and body product makers are spreading the word about what the 'Safe Cosmetics Act' really is, and why it, as it is now written, could put many of us out of business.

Why I oppose the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010

Going before the House Of Representatives is H.R. 5786: The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 (SCA or H.R. 5786). What this is is a poorly thought out and poorly written bill created by a coalition of people including the Campaign For Safe Cosmetics and the Environmental Working Group claiming to have the interests of the consumer and also businesses like mine represented.
However, this bill would put provisions in place which would make it impossible for businesses such as mine to continue making body products and soap!
We are linking to a petition: Oppose HR 5786
which offers a great examination of this bill.
Here are a few of the points from the petition (and i am quoting them)that show this bill to be unneccsary and also detrimental to all of us:
“Point 1.
1. HR 5786 is unnecessary. Small cosmetics companies have a history of producing safe cosmetics pursuant to current laws that require companies to clearly identify the products they sell, provide all manufacturer contact information and truthfully label products with ingredients.
Point 2.
2. HR 5786 contains onerous registration requirements. HR 5786 contains intrusive and unnecessary requirements that would force small companies to disclose to the federal government information that the government does not need, which is unduly burdensome for small companies to provide and which does nothing to protect consumers from unsafe cosmetics. Specifically, in addition to having to register their company name and location, small companies would also have to file with the federal government product descriptions, product ingredients, trace ingredient in products, gross sales numbers, the name and contact information of the suppliers of the ingredients used in their cosmetics and their number of employees.
Point 3.
3. HR 5786 contains unnecessary labeling requirements. Current cosmetics laws already require small companies to list ingredients on labels. HR 5786 expands labeling requirements to include trace elements found inside those ingredients. For example, a product containing water (or any other natural ingredient), would have to contain a label listing the water and also every other trace element inside that water. (Water contains a number of chemicals, including nickel, lead, copper, silver and dozens more — depending on the water source.) Requiring small companies to include such a list on each label is onerous and unnecessary.
Point 4.
4. HR 5786 requires small companies to conduct unnecessary scientific testing. Under the bill as drafted, small companies would be required to test all of the products they make, and be in a position to produce data to the federal government about the ingredients, components of ingredients, and also, components that may be produced when known ingredients are combined. Those are impossible (and unnecessary) standards.
Point 5.
5. HR 5786 is anti-American. At a time when our Congressional representatives should be seeking to revitalize the American economy, especially where manufacturing is concerned, HR 5786 would eliminate it in cites and towns in every state across this nation.
Point 6.
6. HR 5786 specifically allows all 50 states to pass stricter requirements. Even with the sweeping nature of HR 5786, it specifically states that each state can pass additional laws as it sees fit. This provision is Congressional permission for each state to pass whatever laws it wants, creating a patchwork quilt of laws that no small company can comply with. If Texas adds labeling or manufacturing requirements that are different from HR 5786, and also different from other states, then no company will be able to sell so much as a quarter-ounce tube of lip balm without first checking to make sure they are not in violation of 51 separate cosmetics laws. No small company can do that (and most large ones can’t either).
Point 7.
7. HR 5786 does not contain an exemption for small business owners. Many laws in this country exempt small companies because compliance would put them out of business without any real benefit to society. The same is true in this case. HR 5786 treats the smallest company making 50 products a day the same way it treats our nation’s multi-million dollar companies. While there is an exemption from the annual payment of fees, the testing and paperwork requirements in this bill place burdens on very small businesses that are unfair, overreaching, unnecessary, offensive and intrusive.
America’s Small Businesses
Our nation’s small cosmetics companies are in large part launched by men and women who want to create alternatives to products that can be purchased at “Big Box” stores. They use a high proportion of naturally occurring ingredients when compared to larger companies, and they are not producing cosmetics on a large scale at all. And that’s why their customers love their products, and that’s why Congress must make sure that it passes no law that puts them out of business without any benefit to consumers. This is one such law.
”
Please consider clicking that link. Signing the petition and then helping out ... contact your congress person, let them know that we all want clean and non toxic cosmetics, but we don’t want this particular bill.
Thank You!

End of Summer?

2010-08-19T10:23:00.000-05:00

Today will be at least 85 to 90, Tuesday was in the 70's! The leaves are already falling off of our maple trees and the cicadas are still singing...I think Mother Nature is all mixed up.

An order came in for me yesterday, a load of lotion bottles (the newer flat style with the I began using early in 2009) and some new fragrances! I will begin testing these this week, to determine which will be the winners, and list them here and on the website as soon as I'm ready. I'm getting the soap studio ready for another soap-making marathon, and working on a few new products. Busy and happy to be!

There are just a few weeks left of the Downtown Mason City Saturday Market, and almost two months left of the N. IA Farmer's Market. At the end of October it will be mighty chilly out there, but I'll stick it out as long as I can! Shop hours are normalizing here, now that school has started again. Those changes will be posted on the website and on Facebook, as well as on the front door of the candle studio.

So- is it Summer or Autumn?

Coffee and scone

2010-05-19T12:25:00.000-05:00

Well, it's really latte and scone. That's what I bought a block away from my shop at a local coffee stop. I forgot my lunch today, so now I will gain five pounds from the simple double-shot non-fat latte with 1/2 vanilla paired with an apple scone that probably has 12 ounces of sugar in it. Don't get me wrong, it was great and I'll bet that I burned off that many calories on the 1 block walk back to the shop while observing the screaming, playing children in the park. Maybe they were screaming, "Don't eat that!", but I couldn't hear them clearly because of the sugar high.

Summer scents, I gotta think

2010-05-18T13:29:00.000-05:00

It seems that coconut fragrances are in vogue this spring/summer. I have several in my scent arsenal, ranging from the bake-yourself-in-the-sun H. Tropics type, to a fruity coconut remini(scent) of a beach somewhere sunful. (That's 'sinful' but with sun. Oh never mind.) So, me thinks that maybe a sunful coconut soap is in order, as are several coconutty candles and maybe even shampoo bars again. I am sitting here typing with a 3 year old 'Fresh Coconut' shampoo bar stuck under my nose. I made them in my first attempts at a non-soap shampoo bar, made with mild surfactants and light conditioners. After reading up on ingredients and the chemistry again, it turns out that I will not be changing anything with regards to ingredients, and will make them look less like lumpy cupcakes and more like something I meant to do. I think coconut will make a reappearance, but there will be at least two other fragrances or combinations of fragrances. Three is a good number, unless it's three cats, and that's two too many.

It's been a long time!

2010-03-31T22:25:00.000-05:00

In the spirit of blogging, I have returned. Many things at Soyphisticated Candles have changed, while others are very much the same. I have ten new fragrances this Spring, and will be adding them to this blog in the next couple of days. Meanwhile, please check out my website at http://www.soyphisticatedcandles.com. You will find something new that was added in July- Laundry Soap! Read all about it!

Pet Show

2008-05-27T15:18:00.000-05:00

This afternoon was the much-anticipated second grade pet show at our son's school. After thinking of the worst case scenarios, such as 1. Kitty runs away 2. Kitty tears my face off 3. Kitty relieves herself in my car 4. Kitty attacks a pit bull- I bravely chose to attach her collar and a makeshift leash, put her in the car, drive to the school and hope for the best.

We were the first to arrive, so we hung out on the playground equipment until other pet parents began to appear. The first dog was very large, clearly outweighing it's owner, so we hung back for awhile. The eventual menagerie included an assortment of canines, six felines, and a koi. The main cacophany came from the dogs, and an occasional meow by a cat. The koi was very quiet.

Things were well under control until the kids were released from the school, spilling out onto the sidewalks and running towards us. Kiwi the kitty took one look, climbed my sweater, and buried her face in my neck. She did eventually peek out and relax when our son appeared, and then his friends were able to pet her. She actually did a very good job of controlling herself in a stressful situation, and was a bit reluctant to go back into the house at the end of our adventure. She went straight to the water dish, and I went straight to the lint brush.

Markets and Gas

2008-05-23T16:28:00.000-05:00

Our local farmer's market began two weeks ago. Because of a big concert the following day, I didn't want to risk being outside in the wind and cold and then having no voice to sing. (The website for the choir is www.unavocis.org) The concert went wonderfully, as my director-husband would agree. We couldn't have asked for better.

Last Friday's market was very good, although all of our vendors are not attending yet- they will start showing up in a couple of weeks with flowering plants, more vegetable plant starters, more baked goods. It is a bit funny and a bit sad when people show up already in May looking for sweet corn and green beans....they have lost the link between their food and it's origins. The food at our market is grown and produced by the vendors, and most of the corn and beans have just been planted. I just find it mildly amusing. Soap and candles, organic lotions and balms continue to be a big hit, the new packaging and display are fresh for the season, with more of a 'natural' tilt with color and fabrics. That coincides with my using mostly organic ingredients, selecting recyclable and recycled packaging and bags, and everything the business stands for in general. New this season are aromatherapy inhalers utilizing special synergy blends of essential oils. Lavender pillow mist is the new addition for the market next week!

School is out late next week, and mom here isn't quite sure how to juggle things! It generally requires a couple of weeks of chaos to get into a groove. We wanted to drive to Seattle this summer, to get back to the old stomping grounds of 13 years ago, and so our oldest could see where he was born. With gas prices climbing exponentially, that just may not happen. We may be finding interesting areas within our own state and in Minnesota instead. I'm looking at buying a new car soon, one that gets better gas mileage than my '96 Caravan (a whopping 14.7 mpg.) Leaning towards a Prius..........I wish I could find a lavender one, like my old '71 VW Super Beetle LOL!

Reduce-Reuse-Recycle...

2008-04-10T16:57:00.000-05:00

In my quest (both personal and in business) to be more 'green', buy locally, eat organic, make non-toxic cleaners for my house, I came upon some interesting information. On a huge forum that I frequent, someone posted how awful her city is looking as the snow melts, and layer upon layer of trash is being exposed. As far as obvious littering, she said her biggest peeve is cigarette butts being tossed out like they don't 'qualify' as garbage. I encounter this every single day. While driving across town earlier this week, I wound up following five drivers who chucked their cigarettes out the window. (Knuckle-dragging mouthbreathers. I honk my horn at every one of them, and they look so surprised.) This was during a whopping 6 mile round trip. I know that each person I see doing this can't be so oblivious that they don't realize it's LITTERING. How many cigarette butts do you think the street sweepers pick up in a year? Wouldn't that be interesting (and nauseating) to find out?

Our state finally passed a smoking ban that will take effect this summer. Evidently, it will be against the law to smoke in any bar, restaurant, public place and place of work. Twelve years ago we were living in the Seattle area, and they had just passed smoking bans there. It took TWELVE years until that was done here. Interesting.

In the interest of the health of our surroundings as well as our own health, here are a few interesting stats on rates of decomposition, in years.
Paper -- 2.5 months
Orange Peel -- 6 months
Milk Carton -- 5 years
Cigarette Butt -- 10-12 years
Plastic bag -- 10-20 years
Disposable diaper -- 75 years
Tin can -- 100 years
Beer can -- 200-500 years
Styrofoam -- Never (immortal)

Last summer I switched to using post-consumer recycled bags and lavender recycled tissue at the shop. People actually asked for them, and I was waiting until the prices were similar to what I had been paying for polypropylene bags. The poly bags were recyclable, but paper is better to me. I had to purchase packing peanuts last fall, and found a great place in Golden Valley Minnesota, called Starch Tech. They make cornstarch peanuts! These things are wonderful, and they don't squash down like other starch packers I've tried. Went through four 20 cubic foot bags quickly, and have one left. The only bad thing is if you get one stuck to the bottom of your wet shoe- it becomes a sort of sticky starch lump, LOL! I'm still taking in peanuts that people drop off and use them for shipping- recycling by reusing. I just hope that they are, in turn, recycled again. I reuse most boxes that come in the door (and there are a lot).
Just trying to do my part.

Musings in wax

2008-03-21T13:35:00.000-05:00

About one month ago, our pastor asked me if I could produce a 3x32"-ish soy pillar candle for the Easter vigil service this year. (...'what did you say?', I thought). "Well, I've never made one that tall before, but I'm sure I can do it" I said. (...'am I crazy?')

Plan A. After looking all over online, I did manage to find a couple of places that could special-order the mold- but it would take up to 15 working days, which put me with no time to pour the candle and possibly another in case the first did not burn as we needed. (...'okay, what the heck am I going to do now?')

Plan B. What is something that already exists as a tube? Stovepipe? Some sort of piping? GOT IT! PVC pipe!
So I hoofed it through Menards to the plumbing section and angels sang from above and birds twittered as I saw the perfect length of PVC waiting patiently for me. It was nice and smooth inside- smooth enough, anyway. (I figured out why I heard the birds so clearly- they live in the rafters of the building. Oh well, a jolt to reality never hurt anyone, right?)

Back home with the pipe and end piece, I ask my husband to cut off a length of 33 inches or so. Luckily, he did it with a smile, which was much better than I would have had on my face had I used a hacksaw on the sucker. With that done, it was a process of stopping up the end, wicking the mold after lubricating it with a dry silicone spray, and pouring the monster- and praying to Jesus that the candle turned out well.

I'm happy to say that a new Soyphisticated Candles record has been set. This bad boy weighs 10 pounds and is 32" long. My 13 year-old son gets to carry this candle in a procession.

He'd better not drop it.

January- a time for renewal and thought

2008-01-23T16:14:00.000-06:00

December was a huge month at the shop (Soyphisticated Candles) in Mason City, IA. This necessitated a 10 day break for sanity purposes. All is fairly well now, after a trying couple of weeks with an 8 year old son with a double ear infection and an elderly cat with an illness that could not be contained. Sadly, our kitty had to be put to sleep yesterday, at the ripe old age of 16 1/2. She was our first baby and we will miss her forever. Rest in peace, Matisse.

After-Christmas orders were delayed, but we're caught up now and mulling over exciting changes such as: new fragrances for the candle line, fun new soaps and shapes for the Farmer's Market, and several other new things. I'm tempted to drag out all of my fine silver and gold foil to make some new Keum-Boo pieces, as well as sheets of titanium for anodizing...I'm sure my significant other will be excited about more mess. That stuff tends to be contained in my little 7x9 'studio' at home.