Selling SoapIn your free time you love to craft and you have a hobby. You make soap and cosmetic products for yourself. You thought for a change you would hand make some lovely soap and skincare products for friends or family for Christmas presents.

They absolutely love them. They want to buy more from you or tell you how great it is and that you should sell it.

You think 'Okay.Great I can make my hobby a business' and 'I can get a market stall or sell it online'.

If only it was that simple!

Not to say that it's hard and you have to give up already, but there are a few things you have to do before you can sell anything.

What you need to do to sell your products legally?

  • Formulate your products and trial them – your friends and family come in handy
  • Obtain a Cosmetic Product Safety Report (CPSR) – the Soap Kitchen has more information on Safety Assessments and what you need to do here
  • Establish a Good Manufacturing Practice – this ensures your products are always safe and manufactured in a professional and hygienic manner
  • Keep a Product Information File (PIF) – this is record of your product and latest batch produced should it be requested by the authorities or public
  • Give each batch of product you produce a unique batch code – this means keeping full record in a manufacturing log of everything you make and the ingredients used
  • Label your products correctly – that way everyone know what you are putting into your products and can contact you if required
  • Notify the Cosmetic Products Notification Portal (CPNP) – this is a database for the purposes of market surveillance, analysis, evaluation and consumer information.
  • Get the right insurance
  • Notify the HMRC, Trading standards and any other authority that your are manufacturing products

Why do you need to do this?

Cosmetic legislation ensures that all cosmetic products that are on the market in the UK (and throughout the EU) are safe and fit for purpose. It is regulated by the European legislation, the Cosmetics Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009. www.gov.uk/guidance/product-safety-for-manufacturers#cosmetic-products-safety-regulations

Article 4.2 of the regulations states:

"For each cosmetic product placed on the market, the responsible person shall ensure compliance with the relevant obligations set out in this Regulation."

If you are making and selling products you are considered the responsible person and you are responsible for all the obligations set out in the Regulations. It is your responsibility to ensure you are complying with the regulations and carrying out all necessary record keeping and safety precautions.

The Cosmetic Regulation controls what may or may not be put into a cosmetic. The primary purpose of these laws is to protect human safety. It is important that your future customer has confidence in the safety of your products.

Cosmetics include soaps; shower gels;  shampoos; hair dyes, skin toners; moisturisers and cleansers; anti-ageing creams; antiperspirants; sunscreens; oral hygiene products such as toothpastes; and fine fragrances and other perfumery products to mention a selection.

For more information contact www.thesoapkitchen.co.uk