Soap Artisan Friends of Etsy

The Soap Artisan Friends of Etsy

are proud and honored to introduce
Marie Gale

As our first speaker in our Virtual Soap Symposium

Marie Gale, President of the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild and author of the book “Soap & Cosmetic Labeling,” will discuss how to label your soaps and bath & body products correctly – including when your soap is a cosmetic, and when your cosmetic becomes a drug according to FDA standards. Learn the rules and regulations that apply to your business, without wading through pages of technical information and legalese!

Please join us in the Etsy Virtual Labs, on March 16th, 5 pm.

It all started when Marie moved, with her daughter, to her family's ranch. Needing an income she did lots of research to find her outlet. Wanting to do something that was somehow related to the land, so she started researching different types of “homesteading” activities, and soapmaking was the one that stuck! (Luck for us!) In 1998 she created Chandler Soaps with some help from her family. In 1999 she attended her first (their 3rd) Annual Conference of the Handcrafted Soap Makers Guild and launched her website for Chandlers Soaps! Both have paid off quite well!!

Being a member of the Handcrafted Soap Makers Guild, Inc. since 1998, Marie was elected to the Board of Directors in 2003. The following year she was re-elected to the Board of Directors and became the Vice-President. Upon taking office of Vice President she immediately assumed the Office of President, as the elected President was unable to take office due to health issues.
She has been President since — re-elected in 2005 then again in 2007 for two year terms. The 2007 term will be over June 30, 2009 and, unfortunately, will not be eligible for any further terms on the Board or as President. It is a volunteer position, done for the love of the Soap Guild, and we would like to thank her for all of her hard work and dedication! She has been a true asset to the organization.

As an author Marie has written (along with many other wonderful thing) a book that clarifies and explains the basic regulations of product labeling and makes them easy to understand. The 2nd edition, published in early 2008, has added more pages, pictures and diagrams, including a complete chapter on the labeling of soap. Surprisingly, getting the labeling right isn’t very complicated … but it is very detailed.
This book explains, in plain English, how to follow product labeling rules and regulations from:

-Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act
-Fair Product and Labeling Act
-Uniform Weights & Measures Law
-Uniform Packaging and Labeling Regulations
-State Laws

In addition, the appendices include cosmetic color additives and their approved uses, INCI names for common ingredients, restricted and prohibited ingredients and metric conversion charts.

Whether you’re an old hand or a newcomer to the business of soap and cosmetics, you’ll find the information presented in her book to be clear and easy to understand, and Soap & Cosmetic Labeling an excellent guide through the maze of labeling regulations.

We would like to thank Marie Gale for her time and expertise. For more information on Marie you can visit her website http://www.mariegale.com/ and the Hand Crafted Soap Makers Guild http://www.soapguild.org/.