A Palm-Oil Free & Coconut-Oil Free Soap Bar That's Handmade With NO Toxins

Finding a good conscious soap brand is always on our radar. We are excited to share that we found TERRA•TORY - an 100% Natural, palm oil-free + coconut oil-free that’s handmade, hypoallergenic. So we chatted with founder Kimberly Waldropt on her brand of 100% recyclable or biodegradable soaps.

INTERVIEW:

When and why did you start this brand and what does the name me?

I started a TERRA-TORY in November 2017, but I’ve been soap making with my mother since I was a child. It’s pretty simple actually, TERRA means earth, your territory is your body your surroundings your skin your hair etc.

How do you define sustainability?

100% off the back, being a palm free soap brand for me is the definition of sustainability. Yes, we all want to do the research and find sustainable palm oil, but I’d rather just avoid it altogether. There are too many products that contain palm oil already which is something we’re not really addressing as much as we should. Sustainability means to not be greedy because of my own gain.

Share a bit about some of your favorite ingredients and why?

My favorite ingredients to use in my soap are the fresh produce. Anything fresh. Fresh cucumber, fresh aloe, fresh avocados, fresh carrots and coconut milk; they all have amazing skin benefits skin and they leave your skin feeling better than it was before. It heals your skin and it adds nutrients and vitamins that you’ve been missing by using Dove or Dr. Bronner’s.

Share a bit about why you're palm oil and coconut oil free?

One day a customer approached me; I’ll never forget her, she was a black woman just like me. She told me she has a severe allergy to coconut oil. When she told me this, I immediately started doing extensive research. That was my opportunity to fill a need that wasn’t on the market . I was helping a fellow black woman. She needed something and I provided that for her. Now, she’s a returning customer, who loves her skin, and a die-hard TERRA-TORY user. Most of all, instead of trying to sell her something that wasn’t in her best interest, I listened to her needs and I fulfilled that. She appreciates me for listening. All my customers use natural soaps and they can actually feel the difference after using my bars. Also, many soap makers like to cheat the public because they don’t understand the soap making process. So they use higher quantities of palm oil and coconut oil to make up a batch of soap, and the detriment is that it dries out your skin. Since my bars are to “hydrate”, my method and formula combined, fixes all of that. Think about it like this, after using my bars you don’t have to rush to put lotion on your body. It’s that amazing.

Does being a Black woman influence/inspire your brand? If so how/why?

Growing up in a society where we’re usually fooled and/or tricked about what products can do for us. For the longest time we’ve been using products that contain chemicals, toxins and carcinogens that were not only harmful to us, but targeted to us black women. As a black woman, I want to be the solution to that problem, to educate, to prevent or to even heal our community

What are you looking forward to in the near future?

I most definitely want to expand. This is the year that I want to sell in stores, so I am making it my goal this year to open up some wholesale accounts. I would love to Collaborate with wellness brands that align with self-care, body care etc. I want to continue to teach and educate those who are being misled.