Natural is always best – and this is something that this is particularly true when it comes to soap. With its selection of artisan, handcrafted, and luxury soaps to boot, The Dark Island Soap Co. has gone from strength to strength since opening its doors in 2023, setting a new gold standard for organic soaps and sustainable, cruelty-free businesses alike. Created as a way to honour Donald MacLellan, Founder Chiara MacLellan’s late father, this brand encapsulates its seafaring heritage and luxurious soap perfectly, and we take a deep dive into its touching story below. Best Sustainable Natural Soap Brand 2024 Born in the main village of Lochboisdale on the island of South Uist – known as ‘The Dark Island’ – in the Outer Hebrides, Donald MacLellan was a successful businessman operating in and around Edinburgh in the motoring business for more than 50 years. Passing away in 2022 from vascular dementia, Chiara dedicates the business to the memory of her father and his childhood in this beautiful region of Scotland, with Donald’s influence felt across the wealth of sea-based soaps sold by The Dark Island Soap Co. today. Chiara was born in Edinburgh, but today resides in the Stirlingshire countryside, living with her fiancé and two daughters. Against this beautiful backdrop, Chiara crafts her unique range of luxurious, vegan soaps. With a business diploma in soap making under her belt, Chiara is incredibly proud of the fact that she is entirely self-taught, having made her first cold process soap in December 2022 and honed her skills ever since. Today, The Dark Island Soap Co. stocks a range of her handmade soaps, all of which are at least 90% organic. Sustainability is at the forefront of the business, and Chiara makes all of her cold process, non-toxic, paraben-free soaps from a base recipe of organic natural oils and raw, unrefined shea butter. The consistency of the soap is then achieved through mixing in fat or oil and sodium hydroxide, before a number of oils and colourants are added as required. Over the next two days, saponification, a slow-burning chemical reaction, takes place, before the curing process sees the bar harden over a period of approximately four to six weeks. With no preservatives or unnatural chemicals used at any stage of the process, the final product is as natural as soap can possibly be. Since they are all safe to use on children from ages 3 and above – with the ‘Bare Naked’ soap that the company makes even being suitable for babies right from birth – Chiara’s own soap is the only one that she uses on her own children. The seabased ingredients used across this range reflect the company’s natural commitment even further, be it Scottish seaweed, sea salt, or natural clays. It is not only throughout the products themselves where The Dark Island Soap Co.’s sustainable commitment makes itself clear. Its eco-friendly nature is apparent through its plastic-free packaging, for which it was named a Plastic Free Champion by Surfers Against Sewage, and through its net-zero website. For every order placed on the website, the company plants a tree through Tree Nation. Thus, in the past 18 months or so, more than 1,400 trees have been planted thanks to The Dark Island Soap Co.’s loyal customers. More sales have also resulted in the company diversifying its product line, which today consists of loofahs, wash cloths, sponges, soap pouches, nail brushes, soap dishes, and more. With the festive season also in full swing, The Dark Island Soap Co. is selling a lot of its gift sets, which encompass one of its signature soaps and a range of complementary accessories. This is just the beginning of the exciting plans that the company has in store over the coming years, a testament to the brand’s consistent quality and personal touch. Ultimately, the unrivalled range of luxury aromatherapy soaps and the eco-friendly bathing accessories handcrafted by The Dark Island Soap Co. make switching from generic, chemical-filled soaps not only easy, but a pleasure. On the back of this, this family-run business has built a strong foundation for itself that will serve both it and its customers well for generations to come, all whilst championing sustainable practices and helping the world which we live in. For this, Chiara MacLellan more than deserves this award. Contact: Chiara MacLellan Company: The Dark Island Soap Co. Web Address: https://www. thedarkislandsoapco.com/ Oct24100
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