Soap, Sustainability and Social Justice

A small work collective began producing great natural soap in the Selkirk Mountains of Northeastern Washington State in 2004. The individual paths of team members merged long before the first mix of saponified vegetable oils was hand cut and savored by people living in their valley.

A nonprofit organization formed in early 1997 to expose harsh drug sentencing laws. Nora was a principle founder of the November Coalition Foundation. Tom began working with the group from California until 1998 and was managing the Washington office by 1999. Chuck showed up to volunteer the summer of 1999, and the group worked out of a small house in rural Colville Valley for many years.

Summer 2004, the November Coalition moved operations to a commercial building in historic downtown Colville, settled into routine work, and expanded programming. The building, originally a church in 1920, had been a bakery from the 1940's until the turn of the century. Lots of people wondered what might unfold in the commercial kitchen, what would become of the old bakery equipment.

In autumn, Nora bought a couple varieties of 'natural' soap. She'd made soap when a homemaker and raising a family, but the soap she bought wasn't as good as she remembered making. She found her trusted recipes and began to make soap.

We want people to learn the joy of using an all-natural, handmade, hand cut bar of pure soap. Today, most people wash their body with products that aren't soap at all, but are actually chemical detergents made with petroleum products, synthetic dyes and fragrances. The skin is your body's largest organ; it makes sense to use pure, natural soap on it.

The cold process soap-making technique used by November's Natural Soap not only preserves the integrity of nourishing oils, but the earth itself. We use more renewable, human energy than precious water and electricity. Recycling is routine, and we avoid using products that create a lot of waste. Empty plastic buckets and oil containers are given to people who live in the mountains surrounding our valley, used again to haul water, pot greenhouse vegetables, and irrigate local family gardens.

We offer personal, friendly service and a superior soap for all the right reasons.

If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail us, or call 509-684-1550 ext 206.

Today, you can help create a more sustainable, equitable world. Do you buy soap? Make a purchase of November's Natural Soap today.