Win a Sarva soap trio on Monday 10/27!

I’m honored to be asked to join Eco-Office Gals in their blog relaunch celebration!  For a total of two weeks, they are offering daily product giveaways… really fabulous items.  I’m in good company!

On Monday October 27, Eco-Office Gals offers you a chance to win a free Custom Spa Trio from Sarva Soaps!

So, here’s how you enter:  Visit the Eco-Office Gals web site tomorrow (Monday 10/27) and follow the instructions on the blog post.  You will have a little bit of “homework” to do in order to place your entry.

Here is what you will win:

Sarva offers you this one-of-a-kind Spa Series Trio, valued at $22.50, a custom creation just for this giveaway!  Packaged in all recycled papers and tied with natural jute twine, this is eco-friendly luxury at its finest.

• Benigara:  The word Benigara refers to a very particular shade of red in the Japanese language, the oxide red stain of traditional Japanese buildings. You’ll find that same shade of red in the speckles in this soap, along with a mysterious, meditative essential oil blend reminiscent of the finest Asian incense. This luxury formulation contains rice bran oil and macadamia nut oil, both very popular in Japanese culture for skin care.
• Oats and Honey:  Sweet mildness! You won’t believe the lather.  Oat flour and nurturing honey in a silky soymilk base, with a heavenly toasted honey-oat scent. (Remember Bit-O-Honey candies? Yep, just like that.) Superfatted with rich apricot kernel oil.  Sarva supports local business and uses local raw Ohio honey.
• Miss Lily: Originally designed as a soap for babies and named after one very special little person… but grownups love it just as much!  Miss Lily has a gentle, abundant, creamy lather. There is just a touch of lavender essential oil, providing a soft, comforting scent.  Calendula-infused olive oil, along with shea butter, creates a wonderfully mild formula. All pigments are natural, so there’s nothing funky going on your skin!

Hurry… don’t miss this great chance to try some great soap!

Once the contest results are announced, Sarva will ship this Custom Spa Trio directly to the winner.

Good luck everyone! If you are the lucky winner, I hope you enjoy your soaps!

StartupNation Home-Based 100 Contestant

Vote for Sarva Soaps in the StartupNation Home-Based 100 Businesses Competition!  Winners of the Home-Based 100 find themselves at the center of a media storm that includes recognition on national and local TV, radio, in newspapers and magazines, and on some of the largest, most influential websites on the web, MSN and StartupNation among them.

As always, thanks for your support!

FDA Globalization Act… more info… folks, this is SERIOUS.

I am not crying wolf.

Here is, hands down, the BEST, most informative post I’ve seen yet.

If this doesn’t spur you to action, I don’t know what will.    I’m writing my congresswoman.  What will YOU do?

Please support small business in America and, while you’re at it, remember what principles this country was founded on.

Thank you.

_________________________________________________

Letter to Stephanie Tubbs-Jones, my local Congresswoman (with personal contact information removed, of course):

I am writing to create respectful dialogue about the FDA Globalization Act of 2008.

I am in your district; I am a small business owner who would be immediately put out of business, literally bankrupted by the fees imposed by this Act.

I would like to know how–and whom–I can discuss this matter with in more depth so that I can make it clear how harsh, draconian, and unjust the proposed Act is to small businesses, who depend on their income and want a fair chance to grow their businesses without unfair fees and oppressive paperwork.

At a time when our nation’s economy is in a state of crisis, this Act will only serve to threaten our financial security all the more through a dangerous, damaging domino effect.

A petition against this Act may be found here, issued by Donna Maria Coles-Johnson of the Indie Beauty Network: http://www.indiebusinessblog.com/indie_business/2008/06/stop-the-fda-gl.html#more   She will be in Washington next week to meet with representatives, and has contacted the Wall Street Journal as well as John Kerry to gain publicity.

I happen to be a woman with two chronic health conditions, not eligible for Disability or Welfare, who is following one of the few dreams she has left.  I love what I do, and to have this taken away from me, after years of hard work, would be devastating.  I am far from the only person in this situation.  Please answer my plea for affirmative action to be taken seriously.

My sincere thanks for your time and consideration.  I look forward to hearing from you or your assistants.

Michelle Gilbert
Sarva Natural Artisan Soaps

Do you love handcrafted soap? Then fight the FDA!

The FDA’s proposed Globalization Act of 2008 places businesses like Sarva in severe jeopardy, potentially forcing small/cottage businesses to shut down and preventing new ones from starting.

The Globalization Act proposes mandating outrageous fees for food, drug, medical device, and cosmetics companies.  Also required would be paperwork that would cripple the average sole proprietor.  Fees for registration and re-registration, certification, importing, exporting, inspection and reinspection, heavy fines for noncompliance, and so on and so forth, are predicted to generate $600 million to fund FDA activities!

Companies such as
Sarva Natural Artisan Soaps
WILL NOT SURVIVE
under this proposed Act.

Let me be clear.  I am fully in support of protecting the safety of consumers.  After all, I too am a consumer, and there’s a lot out there to wonder about! However, these draconian measures are complete overkill and go beyond simply protecting the consumer.  What they will serve to do is limit YOUR choices to only businesses who can afford what might amount to $12,000 per year in fees to simply stay in business.   Yep, that’s big box companies.

And the effects will trickle into an incredible domino effect. If businesses all across the country don’t exist, they don’t need supplies, which shuts their suppliers down. Which puts a dent in the shipping industry. Which causes even more job loss. Which affects every single community. Think of the damage to an already drowning economy that can ensue. Think of the message it delivers to would-be entrepreneurs nationwide: “You don’t have a chance of even getting started.” In a time when many people seek to supplement their income, this is a devastating message.

Think also about consumers like yourself, my valued customers, who come to companies like mine for an alternative to mass-produced synthetics… seeking an environmentally friendly, meaningful product they can feel good about using. What will be left?

What will YOU choose if you lose your right to purchase artisanal products?

Remember:  The fee structure under this Act is NOT tiered.  All businesses, regardless of size, must pay the same fee.  That means a business who earns $1500 in annual profit must pay the same fees that a business who earns $15,000,000 in profit.

Also remember:  The most highly profitable cosmetics businesses are frequently using cheap, synthetic, often highly sensitizing ingredients.  Don’t believe me?  Read the ingredients for yourself.

Doesn’t it seem that the FDA is trying to protect you from NATURAL PRODUCTS?

This could happen very soon. This is the outcome if enough support is not garnered to lobby against this bill.

Thankfully, the bill is presently in draft stage, which still allows time for petitions and discussion!

Please watch this important video made by Donna Maria Coles Johnson, a former attorney, author, and founder of the Indie Beauty Network, a support and advocacy network for small business in the beauty industry.   She explains the issue far better than I ever could.

Next, get involved.  It only takes a couple of minutes to make a difference. Visit the Indie Business Blog, where she has created a petition that YOU can sign to prevent businesses like mine from going under.  You can also visit the site she mentions in the above video, Families Against Unfair Laws, for updates on this important issue.

I am so grateful to all of my customers and friends for supporting what I love to do so much… and if you love your Sarva soap, or any other handcrafted/artisanal personal care items, now’s the time to take action… or you may never get to enjoy them again!