Bar vs. Liquid: The Environmental Impacts of Choosing Liquid Soaps
At the turn of the last century, the concept of liquid soap was still somewhat foreign. B.J. Johnson had only just invented his liquid soap, derived from palm and olive oils, two years before, in 1898. Over the next century, Johnson’s Palmolive and liquid soaps like it soared in popularity.
As another century dawns, however, the environmental impacts of the products we use every single day must be carefully considered. Read on to find out just how much your liquid soap is costing you and the planet—you just might find yourself in search of some environmentally-friendly bar soaps in El Cajon, CA.
Not your grandma’s bar of soap
When you think of a bar of soap, you might have an unhealthy mental image in your head. You picture the old-fashioned generic bars. They left you only with dry skin before they withered down to a useless, paper-thin sliver.
That’s not what bars of soap are today. Today’s bars are forged in fun shapes and filled with high-quality soap plus healing herbs and plants specially designed to soothe your skin. In other words, if you have reservations about bar soaps’ ability to clean your skin as well as liquid, you shouldn’t—today’s bar soaps are exquisite slices of luxury that liquid soap cannot touch.
About that carbon footprint
Though the two may be comparable in terms of ease of use, liquid soaps can’t touch environmentally-friendly bar soaps in El Cajon, CA. One Swiss study determined that the carbon footprint of liquid soap far outweighs that of bar soap.
For starters, liquid soap takes more than five times more energy to produce than traditional bar soap. Once it’s created, liquid soap is often wrapped in several layers of plastic that simply can’t be found in the packaging of bar soap, which is most often wrapped in cardboard or paper. The result is that liquid soap takes more than 20 times more energy to package.
For those doing the math, that means liquid soaps have a production cost of approximately 25 times more than that of bar soaps.
Rapid reuse
Another drawback to liquid soap is the speed with which it’s used. Whether you realize it or not, most people use liquid soap much more rapidly than bar soap. More volume per use means that you’re running through plastic bottles (and costly liquid soap) much more frequently than bars of soap.
When you switch to traditional soap, you’ll find that you’re not only reducing the refuse you put into the environment, but you’re also saving some money.
Come to Soaps & Scents
Californians on the hunt for top-of-the-line environmentally-friendly bar soaps in El Cajon, CA need look no further than Soaps and Scents. Our handmade small-batch bar soap is not only good for the environment, but it’s also the pinnacle of luxurious self-indulgence. It’s possible to save the planet and indulge yourself in the process.
Stop by Soaps & Scents to discover the wonders of living a healthier, happier and greener lifestyle. We can’t wait to see you!
