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photo: The Soap Co.
photo: The Soap Co.

COSSMA: What gave you the idea of establishing a brand?

Camilla Marcus-Dew, Co-Founder, The Soap Co.: I came to Clarity, a social enterprise in East London that manufactures soap, in 2015. The company had been employing people with disabilities for more than 160 years, with 80 years of expertise in soap manufacture for five-star hotels, high end retailers and a huge customer base, though mostly via contract manufacture.

I only had six months to develop the brand concept, and it is a tough job to launch a product in that short amount of time. But we managed to get a prototype in front of a luxury buyer within seven weeks with a concept design very similar to what we have now. We got some amazing feedback and we knew we were on the right track, and this is how The Soap Co. was born.

What is the brand all about?

The Soap Co. brand is a luxury, carefully developed range of cosmetics made by a social enterprise. We believe that we hold a unique position in the cosmetics industry and we are also pretty unique as we manufacture ourselves. All our products are made by people who are blind, disabled or otherwise disadvantaged. Of 114 staff, 80% have a disability or a long-term health condition. The Braille on the front of our packaging sometimes leads people to believe that we’re all about visual impairment, which isn’t entirely correct. About 40% of our staff have a visual impairment. 

We began with our Original range and have now launched the first fragrances in our Eco & Bee Friendly Collection, together with our bath and body oils that embrace the power of aromatherapy and botanical oils and are 100% natural and vegan. We are also very much focused on the environment, local sourcing and supporting other small social enterprises. There are so many things we do that aren’t simply about disability. 

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