The Mad Optimist Blog

What is Givember?

Mon, 14 Nov 2022 00:00:00 -0500

Givember 2022 is here! You might be wondering, what is Givember, and how is it different from “holiday season” or “November + December” and why we give it a special name. Read on to find out!

Marketing Madness

As a company, we work hard to navigate the world of marketing while adhering to the values outlined in our humanifesto.

This approach becomes extremely critical to us during the ever-expanding, intense season of marketing and consumerism: “The Holiday Season.”

We want to approach marketing with genuineness and sincerity, while also attracting like-minded individuals who want to shop with us to support and promote our mission.

Holiday Season + Humanifesto = GIVEMBER

So, we created “Givember.” Givember is our all-inclusive winter wonderland vision of a festive season centered on kindness and generosity.

We aim to bring back the whole purpose of gifting: to delight your loved ones, and show appreciation for them at the same time.

We would love for you to purchase gifts from us, and thereby increase joy and kindness in the world. If you do something else to celebrate Givember, that’s awesome too!

Givember Goodness

During Givember there is a seasonal event called the Winter Solstice—the longest night of the year. This time of year also coincides with the beginning of the gradual shortening of nights and lengthening of days. It is the basis for many ancient holidays representing good energy in a form of hope, new beginnings, and renewal.

Many times a gift can symbolize this same sort of goodness. One thoughtful gift or act of generosity can send out ripples and waves of goodwill, creating the seed of a new, better world. This is optimism in action.

Ideas for Celebrating Givember

•Give an unexpected gift to someone
•Give a smile to a stranger
•Make something for someone
•Give some advice (and listen!)
•Learn about a winter seasonal tradition outside your family/culture/spritual-religious tradition
•Donate to or volunteer for a cause close to your heart

Conclusion

So, this Givember, we encourage you to show generosity, and increase joy and kindness in the world!

The article What is Givember? first appeared on The Mad Optimist Blog.

Why We Offer Sliding Scale Pricing

Thu, 14 May 2020 00:00:00 -0400

At The Mad Optimist, we want to create and model new and better ways of doing business. That’s why we’re one of the first online e-commerce sites with a sliding, “pay-what-you-can-afford” pricing model!

Behind the Scenes: Product Pricing

Pricing products has never been our favorite activity. We had to balance our need to cover costs and allow the business to grow and thrive with our natural desire to want to help our customers.

But when it came to pricing our new custom soap and bodycare offerings through our updated brand, The Mad Optimist? We were fired up! We had a clearer brand direction—and, with that, we had an even more intense focus on our values, too. We took the opportunity to revamp our pricing model and experiment with some truly innovative ideas.

“There HAS to Be a Better Way!”

Racking our brains, we brainstormed alternatives to the usual pricing models.

Since there isn’t another company offering custom, one-off bar soaps, we had no precedent to go by. (We would have to set our own precedent!) On one hand, customized products cost us more as a company to make. On the other hand, we wanted our products to be affordable no matter what!

We recalled certain customers we’ve served over the years. They told us they loved our products, but they couldn’t afford to buy them regularly. Like the low-income, elderly woman who had to avoid most soaps because they bothered her skin. Our all-natural soaps worked very well for her. So, how should we feel, likely pricing this woman—and many more like her—out of our products?

Then there are the customers who mentioned that they would happily pay much more for our soaps, because of the quality that we offer. What’s more, they wanted to go above and beyond to support what we were doing.

Mohammed A. talking with customers at a farmer’s market.

Rather than appeal to a single social class or income bracket, we’d prefer to cater to like-minded people—people for whom our values and our mission resonate.

Then it hit us.

We don’t have to choose—the customer can!

Enter the Sliding Price Scale!

Customers who can pay a bit more can directly help to offset the cost for customers who need to pay a bit less. At the same time, they’re also helping our business to grow. Best of all, together, we’re changing the way business is done.

How Does the Sliding Price Scale Work?

Simply slide the scale, and choose your price! ;-)

But, beyond that, there was a lot of thought put into it!

There is a lowest price. That’s the lowest price that we can offer on a per-item basis without likely harming the business. This includes covering the costs of our raw materials, labor, and estimated overhead for producing and running the business in general. This price point doesn’t really allow much for growing the business.

The “default price” is the price that loads on the page when you open a product page. This is the price that we would price our products at, if we had to stick with cosmetic/bodycare industry-standard pricing models. This is the price that would benefit our business the most, without what we would consider “overcharging.” As for the highest price on the scale? It is roughly as equidistant from the default price as is the lowest price.

How’s It Going So Far?

It’s going great so far! Since we launched TheMadOptimist.com in September 2018, we’ve found that of customers who purchase our bar soaps:

-More than 67% of them choose a higher price than the lowest price option.
-25% of them choose the default price.
-Roughly 9% of them pay more than the default price. (Thank you!)

These numbers are very encouraging to us. They suggest that—at least for companies hoping to make the world a better place—a sliding-price scale model can work. :-D

Why Not Put Your Mad Optimism to Work?

So far, the sliding price scale has been a great example of what can happen when we re-think a social/business norm and replace it with a bold, alternative solution.

The article Why We Offer Sliding Scale Pricing first appeared on The Mad Optimist Blog.

What is Halal Soap?

Tue, 12 May 2020 00:00:00 -0400

Our story of creating halal soap and bodycare products started way back 2012, when we learned that when you shower with most traditional soap, you’re actually slathering animal fat all over your body. As Muslims and vegans, we don’t eat meat and hated the idea of “cleaning” our bodies with animal fat!

In fact, the vast majority of commercially mass-produced bar soap is almost certainly not halal.

And that was one of the major reasons that we initially started a soap business—to create and offer products that were halal.

What even is “halal?”

“Halal” means permissible in Arabic: here’s how it’s written: حلال. Casually, it is used to refer to what foods a practicing Muslim eats, specifically meat. In actuality, it is a much broader concept, referring to the set of spiritual and practical precepts within Islam that govern what is considered to be healthy and beneficial for a human being to do or not do.

In regards to what meat a Muslim should or shouldn’t eat, halal (specifically the phrase "zabihah halal") refers is the process of humanely killing the animal, and includes such practices as offering the animal water, and not letting the animal see the blade.

But what makes a soap halal or not?

Back when we first started creating soap and bodycare products way back in 2012, we learned that when you shower with most traditional soap, you’re actually slathering animal fat all over your body! And as Muslims and vegans, we don’t eat meat and hated the idea of “cleaning” our bodies with animal fat!

In fact, the majority of commercial bar soaps include animal ingredients. For example, the following three extremely common ingredients come from animal sources:

-Sodium Tallowate—most commonly comes from cows
-Stearic Acid*—most commonly comes from cows
-Sodium Oleate*—often comes from pigs
(* = this can come from plant-based sources as well, but in a commercial and industrial context, often comes from animals)

Muslim scholars are divided as to whether on should or shouldn’t use soap made from non-halal animal fats, however to us the choice is clear->

A new vision for halal soap and bodycare

Plant-based ingredients—no animal ingredients or alcohol!

We even humbly suggest expanding this concept of halal to a more broad idea of health: of your health as a human, and the health of the world as a whole. Whether or not you subscribe to plant-based eating, veganism, or vegetarianism, it’s clear that the commercial mass-production animal husbandry industry which supplies the vast majority of animal ingredients for both food and soap/bodycare use is both horrifyingly cruel and unsustainable.

Some of our happy customers at our booth at the annual ISNA convention

Thus, even before many in our team here at The Mad Optimist switched to a plant-based diet, we made all of our products halal and vegan, utilizing no animal products.

At the same time, it’s becoming increasingly clear that it’s time to go back to simpler, more wholesome ingredient lists for both our food and our cosmetic products. This ingredient list comes from a popular commercial soap (note the Sodium Tallowate and the Sodium Stearate which are likely animal-based):

Sodium Lauroyl Isethionate, Stearic Acid, Lauric Acid, Sodium Tallowate or Sodium Palmitate, Water (Aqua), Sodium Isethionate, Sodium Stearate, Cocoamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Cocoate or Sodium Palm Kernelate, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891).

Now, compare that list with one of ours:

Water, Olive oil, Organic sustainable palm oil, Organic coconut oil, Sodium hydroxide (lye), USP castor oil, Organic canola oil; Essential oils of organic lavandin, tea tree, Organic gluten-free oatmeal.

We know which we’d prefer. :-)

The article What is Halal Soap? first appeared on The Mad Optimist Blog.

We're Donating All Online Revenue Generated During the May 15th Airing of Our ‘Shark Tank’ Episode! Here’s Why. . .

Sun, 10 May 2020 00:00:00 -0400

We are donating 100 percent of TheMadOptimist.com revenue—not just profits!—generated from 8 pm to 3:00 a.m. Eastern time on May 15th. During this time, we’ll be appearing on Shark Tank on ABC.
The final total is $80,192.39

Why we’re donating

We are Shia Muslims who observe the day of Ashura, Every year on this day, we donate 100 percent of our online revenue—again, not just profits!—to worthy organizations which fight societal oppression by assisting groups such as the homeless, refugees, and LGBT youth.

We do this in order to commemorate the death of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson who stood up and spoke out against oppression, injustice, and inequality.

On Ashura, people all over the world stay home from work, mourn, and reflect upon this emotional story as well as its guidance for the present day.

Ashura falls on a different day each year, because it is reckoned using the lunar Islamic calendar. Imagine our surprise when we found out that we would be recording our Shark Tank episode on Ashura!

Ashura mourning procession in Karbala, Iraq👉🏽

A difficult decision. . .

At first, we weren’t sure what to do. We wanted to respect the day of Ashura; however, we also didn’t want to lose this amazing opportunity for our business—especially since we’re working hard to make it a force for good in the world.

“Growing up within the Shia Muslim community, the day of Ashura has always been especially spiritual and inspiring, as it reminds us of Prophet Muhammad’s (A.S.) grandson, Imam Hussain (A.S.), and his family’s dedication to human rights and justice,” co-founder Mohammed M. noted. “When we learned our segment would be filmed on Ashura, we debated on whether to proceed, since this is such a holy day for us.”

Then it hit us! We donate our revenue every year on Ashura. We could simply extend this practice by donating our revenue from the night of the first airing of our Shark Tank episode.

“We decided to turn this into an opportunity to support oppressed individuals and spread the word about Imam Hussain’s (A.S.) story,” Mohammed M. said.

Here we go!

“It’s important to note that we are donating 100 percent of revenue—not just profits. That means, if you place a $30 order, we’ll donate $30,” says co-founder Anthony. (That’s me! 😉) “We want to make sure that we’re properly honoring the day of Ashura with this initiative.”

Our episode is airing on Friday, May 15th, 2020 at 8pm Eastern (7pm Central, 7pm Mountain, and 8pm Pacific.) We’ll be donating 100 percent of the revenue that comes in from the beginning of the episode until midnight Pacific time.

“We are also excited that the episode is airing during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, and we hope our efforts to provide halal, all-natural, anti-cruelty soap and bodycare products has a positive impact during the current pandemic," co-founder Mohammad A. says.

Get involved

We’re still deciding which groups, organizations, and/or individuals will receive our donations this year. Here are organizations to which we’ve contributed revenue in the past:

-International Rescue Committee (IRC)—helps people affected by conflict and disaster
-National Coalition for the Homeless—works to prevent and end homelessness
-Masjid al-Rabia—supports and advocates for marginalized, queer, and trans Muslims
-Muslims for Progressive Values—advocates for human rights, social justice and inclusion in the US and around the world.

If you have suggestions you’d like us to consider for this year, please comment here or email us at info@themadoptimist.com.

The article We're Donating All Online Revenue Generated During the May 15th Airing of Our ‘Shark Tank’ Episode! Here’s Why. . . first appeared on The Mad Optimist Blog.

Our Shea Butter is Awesome!

Fri, 08 May 2020 00:00:00 -0400

Today we’re highlighting one of wonderful ingredients, and the wonderful suppliers they come from: our organic fair-trade shea butter from Baraka Shea Butter!

What is Shea Butter, and What’s It Good For?

Shea butter (either pronounced like “She” or “Shay”) is a plant-based oil from press from the nuts of the shea tree (Vitelleria paradoxa), which is native to the dry savannah region of West Africa.

When used in bar soaps, shea butter adds a luxurious, creamy, moisturizing, and skin nourishing quality. It has become one of our most popular add-ins in our product builder since we added it!

Shea butter also traditionally has many other uses, such as a cooking oil, a waterproofing wax, hair product, and a medicinal ointment ingredient.

Where Does Our Shea Butter Come From?

We truly believe that our shea butter is one of the best out there. Why? Because of our fantastic supply partner: Baraka Shea Butter!

“Baraka believes that business can and should be a force for good, integrating social value, business value, and environmental stewardship.”

Baraka Shea Butter is a unique small company that works directly with local women in Northern Ghana to produce 100% handcrafted and natural, fair trade shea butter that is free of any added chemicals.

A family business, run by husband and wife team, Wayne Dunn and Gifty-Serbeh-Dunn, Baraka is passionate about doing business the right way, just like us! Here are ways Baraka is working to create better business (from their website, barakasheabutter.com:

-Fair payment to producers and workers;
-Support of women, families, communities, and development in Ghana;
-The creation of high-quality products brought to the market in a fair, equitable, and environmentally sustainable manner; and
-Operating a profitable business that makes all of this sustainable.

We are proud and overjoyed to work with Baraka, and offer some of the best shea butter around!

Ready To Try It Out?

Here’s a shea butter bar soap recipe that we created for your inspiration:

SA-SHEA TO THE SHOWER

-Neutral Skin Base
-1 part Patchouli
-2 parts Lavender
-1 part Clove
-3 parts Shea butter

The article Our Shea Butter is Awesome! first appeared on The Mad Optimist Blog.

Beauty and the Beast

Wed, 06 May 2020 00:00:00 -0400

We love making soaps that make people feel good. And teaming up with like-minded operations to create exciting new products—well, it puts us in quite a lather. Beast Brands, AKA Tame the Beast, is an innovative bath-and-body company based out of Nashville, Tennessee, that shares our commitment to ingredients that are kind to the earth and all the beasts that roam it. So we were delighted to work with them on a couple of their invigorating bar soaps:

Beast Blue bar soap is a hefty slab of buttery goodness that delivers a rich lather, gentle hydration and Beast’s signature clean herbal scent.

Beast’s Sandpaper Scrub bar soap is Beast Blue with an edge—literally. It adds tiny bits of lava rock to the mix for a deeply satisfying exfoliation experience.

Check out their other products, too—they have personal care and grooming products for Beasts of all kinds.

The article Beauty and the Beast first appeared on The Mad Optimist Blog.

We've got BIG news!!!

Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 -0400

We’ve got some BIG news! We just learned that we will be appearing on ABC's hit series Shark Tank Friday, May 15th at 8pm EDT! We are SO excited!!!

Please spread the word, and like us on Facebook and/or Instagram to get the latest updates (and see our fun announcement video )!

The article We've got BIG news!!! first appeared on The Mad Optimist Blog.

Free Download: Hand Washing Reminder!

Fri, 17 Apr 2020 00:00:00 -0400

Even during these tough times, it can be hard to remember to wash your hands for the recommended 20 seconds or more that will neutralize the coronavirus. We’re here to help!

We created a downloadable sign that you can print and post near the sinks in your house to remind yourself, your family, and other housemates to get those hands squeaky clean, each and every time. Side bonus: you get a little more Mad Optimist in your life. :-)

Here are the download links:

Meerkat Design: Color version

Hands Design: Color version

Hands Design: Black and White version

Plus, all online orders will be receiving a free re-stickable sticker version, that you can stick anywhere, like your bathroom mirror! It’s designed to be water-resistant, and will peel off cleanly.

Stay clean, and stay safe everyone!

The article Free Download: Hand Washing Reminder! first appeared on The Mad Optimist Blog.

What We're Doing About Coronavirus COVID-19

Sat, 21 Mar 2020 00:00:00 -0400

LAST UPDATED: 5/7/2020

In the face of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the only thing we want to spread is our sense of optimism and well wishes for you! We hope you are washing your hands, practicing social distancing, and following the CDC’s safety protocols of course.

And to ease your mind that your high-quality, all-natural soap stash will stay fully stocked, we’re including a FREE bar soap with every online order during this pandemic. The free bar soap will not appear in your cart since the shipping team knows to include it with all orders.

Extra Steps We're Taking Now

At The Mad Optimist, we follow good manufacturing practices (GMP) and our standard operating procedures (SOP). These include:

🧼Team members wash their hands with soap and water before starting any production runs, and they must re-wash their hands when changing over to a different production run. Use of hand sanitizer is not a permitted substitute.

🧼All stainless steel and other work surfaces are washed before and after each use.

🧼Team members always wear hairnets and beard nets when entering and working in the production wing.

🧼Team members always wear non-latex gloves during the production of lip care products.

🧼Any team member with symptoms of illness is required to stay home.

Additionally, we’ve taken these extra steps to maintain the integrity of our production lab during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic:

🧼~~Access to our production wing and finished product wing are closed to the public until further notice.~~

🧼Immediately upon entering our building, all members of the public must wash their hands for at least 20 seconds.

🧼All members of the public must wear a facemask in our production wing and finished product wing, for the duration of their visit.

🧼All in-person workshops are canceled until further notice.

🧼Every day we sanitize communal, frequently-touched surfaces in The Mad Optimist lab, including door knobs, keyboards, refrigerator doors, etc.

🧼Local pickup of bodycare product orders is still an option; however, the order(s) being picked up are handed off to the customer outside the building until further notice. Furthermore, team members are required to wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water after the handoff.

🧼If any of our team members wishes to abstain from coming into work during this pandemic due to health concerns, they can do so without repercussions. We want what’s best for our team members!

Need Bar Soap in a Flash?

Follow these simple steps:

Choose soap(s) from our list of Popular Products.
Ensure your cart does not contain any custom recipes.
For even faster delivery, select the "FedEx 2-day shipping" service option when checking out.
Sit back and relax. We’ll ship your order out the same or next business day. :-)

10 Things to Make You Smile :-)

Now that we’ve got the nitty-gritty out of the way, we wanted to share a few things to up your optimism during these intense times:

Stay In Touch (Without Actually Touching...)

Please let us know if you have any questions via email at info@themadoptimist.com and/or phone at (812) 269-8812. Be clean. Be safe. Be crazy for good!

The article What We're Doing About Coronavirus COVID-19 first appeared on The Mad Optimist Blog.

Partners for Good

Tue, 11 Feb 2020 00:00:00 -0500

We’re not the only ones with big ideas, brave ideals and bold values. Our partners at LPK, a global brand design and innovation agency, are like-minded, human-centric and a little crazy for good too.

Way back when we were still known as Soapy Soap Company, LPK agreed to invest in our business, back our mission and team up to take our brand to the next level. They helped us coin The Mad Optimist, choose the perfect words for our awesome Humanifesto, and craft our fun brand experience from packaging to web to social strategy.

As one of the largest employee-owned creative agencies in the world, we knew LPK was different from the get-go. So, we weren’t surprised when they agreed to experiment with us, try out a new business model and take on a startup mentality. They helped get us off the ground, and now they’re our partner for the long haul. There’s nothing corporate about it. Just two companies who believe in each other and share a whole lot of mutual trust. We like to say it’s the ideal way of working.

Check them out at lpk.com, and also take a look at their page on The Mad Optimist brand.

The article Partners for Good first appeared on The Mad Optimist Blog.

Arbaeen 2019: Help Us Change the World!

Fri, 18 Oct 2019 00:00:00 -0400

Tomorrow, Saturday, October 19th, 2019 is known as Arbaeen—an observance by Shia Muslims (such as ourselves) of the 40th day following the death of Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Imam Hussain. Imam Hussain was killed by the tyrannical and corrupt leaders of his time, for standing up and speaking out against oppression, injustice, and inequality.

On this day every year, tens of millions of people gather in Iraq from all over the globe to stand against oppression—this event is the largest annual peaceful gathering of humans on the planet.

Every year on Arbaeen, we donate 100% of that day's revenue (not just profit/proceeds!) from online orders to causes which support those who are being affected by societal oppression.

The online revenue for Saturday, October 19th will be donated to Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV), a non-profit that is an advocate for human rights, social justice and inclusion in the US and around the world.

Join us by ordering from TheMadOptimist.com on Saturday (tomorrow!)—we'll send you your order as normal, and donate your payment to this great cause. :-)

The article Arbaeen 2019: Help Us Change the World! first appeared on The Mad Optimist Blog.

Three Body-Buttering Add-Ins Now Available!

Thu, 18 Jul 2019 00:00:00 -0400

From the sun's rays to air-conditioning overload, summertime can really dry you out! So, for a limited time this summer, we've adding three super-moisturizing new add-ins to The Mad Optimist mix—mango butter, shea butter, and cocoa butter!

Read on below to find out more about these slippery substances and peruse some skin-drenching new recipes, too!

First up: Mango Butter!

Mango Butter is derived from the seeds of the mango tree (Mangifera indica) that originally comes from the Indian subcontinent. The mango butter we use is unscented, so it blends well with any combo of essential oils. Mango butter adds a fantastic amount of moisturization and emollient properties—and is great for your hair, so it works great for shampoo bars as well!

Mango-rific Moist Mane:

This mango-mazing shampoo bar will quench your luscious locks, not to mention hair and scalp-soothing rosemary and tea tree essential oils!

2 parts rosemary
2 parts tea tree
3 parts unscented mango butter

Next up: Shea Butter!

The uber-famous Shea Butter is made from the fruit seeds from Butyrospermum parkii, a small tree from the Central African savannah. We only use natural, unrefined shea butter, which is super soft, and has the natural light smoky scent of the shea seed. Shea butter is silky smooth and astoundingly moisturizing, soothing, and nourishing for face, hair, and body.

Super Shea Silky Smooth:

This shea-mazing facial bar will cleanse, moisturize, and gently drench your skin!

2 parts lavender
1 part geranium
1 part rosemary
3 parts shea butter

Last but not least: Cocoa Butter!

Cocoa Butter comes from the seeds of the chocolate plant: Theobroma cacao, a small evergreen tree native to tropical regions of the Americas. Cocoa butter is super creamy and moisturizing, AND adds a hint of a chocolatey scent!

Cocoa Mint Chocolate Soap:

This cocoa-mint combo is fresh, lightly chocolately, and super creamy for your skin!

2 parts peppermint
2 parts spearmint
3 parts cocoa butter

The article Three Body-Buttering Add-Ins Now Available! first appeared on The Mad Optimist Blog.

Try These Outdoors-Inspired Body Care Recipes!

Wed, 03 Jul 2019 00:00:00 -0400

Maybe you're all about camping and hiking! Or you're singularly obsessed with growing that perfect heirloom tomato? Whatever your favorite outdoor pursuit happens to be, we've got you covered with a few outdoorsy body care recipes.

To help enhance your outdoors experience, we've created some citronella-rich lip balm, body spray, and specialty soap recipes for you. Try them as-is or modify them to make them your own!

The Great Outdoors Lip Balm:

This lip balm is perfect for moisturizing dry lips, and also works great as an outdoors-friendly hand and body lotion as well!

2 parts citronella
1 part lavandin
1 part lemongrass

Outdoor Adventure Spray:

Use this citronella-based essential oil spray when hiking, camping, or hanging out around a campfire for a calm, aromatherapy experience.

1 part cedarwood
1 part citronella
1 part lavandin
1 part lemongrass

Gardener's Scrub Bar Soap:

An invigorating scent of peppermint and lavandin tingles with a long lasting, bubbly lather that will get all that pesky dirt out from under your nails and wash the caked on soil off your hands and body. Meanwhile, fennel seeds scrub and exfoliate all that hardened, calloused skin — leaving it feeling soft and smooth!

2 parts peppermint
2 parts lavandin
3 parts fennel seeds

Camper's Cleanser Bar Soap:

This citronella-heavy bar soap is super lathery, and also works great as an all-in-one shampoo bar, face bar, and body bar, perfect for when you have to carry all of your supplies. And like all Mad Optimist products, it's perfectly natural, biodegradable, and safe for the environment.

1 part cedarwood
2 parts citronella
1 part rosemary
3 parts Bentonite clay

Critters Can't Smell Me Bar Soap:

This unscented soap thoroughly removes your scent—great for when you're wildlife-watching and don't want to disturb the critters!

Unscented
1 part Bentonite clay
1 part pumice

The article Try These Outdoors-Inspired Body Care Recipes! first appeared on The Mad Optimist Blog.

Five Ways You Can Really Help the Planet

Mon, 22 Apr 2019 00:00:00 -0400

Earth Day's just around the corner, but we think every day should be Earth Day! Rather than let climate change, natural habitat loss, and other environmental issues get us down, we're getting busy instead. Here are several ways you can effect real change for all sorts of creatures and the whole planet, too.

1. Help Pass Climate Change Legislation

You don't have to go deep into the recent United Nations climate report to realize we're already seeing more extreme weather events and temperature fluctuations than we used to. One U.S.-focused initiative we really like is the Citizens Climate Lobby. The nonpartisan group helps regular people around the country to focus their energy on just one goal: passing “Carbon Fee and Dividend Policy” legislation in Congress.

2. Monitor Amphibian Health

Frogs and toads are super-sensitive to pollutants both in water and on land. This makes them extra valuable as indicators of environmental health. If you have a pond or stream nearby, you might consider becoming an official FrogWatcher. FrogWatch USA is a U.S.-based program which enlists everyday people to help monitor frogs and toads during their breeding periods (between early February and the end of August.) After recording time, temperature, wind conditions, and types and intensities of calls heard during a three-minute period, participants enter their data into a national system that researchers use to study the effects of climate change, invasive species, habitat loss, and more.

3. Help Out Some Toads

And, if you or someone you know has a little land to play with, you can give area toads a leg up by providing them with habitat—and protection from predators. Here are instructions for making a couple of different toad houses and a toad hole.

Side Benefit: Many varieties of toads eat pests such as slugs, Japanese beetles, and mosquitoes!

4. Befriend The Bees

Established in 2008, the Great Sunflower Project has become “the largest single body of information about bee pollinator service in North America.” To get involved, you need only grow one lemon queen sunflower, observe its blooms for five minutes or more, and report the number of visits from various pollinators during the observation period. By mapping the data collected, the researchers behind the project are getting a better understanding about the effects fragmented landscapes have had on urban, suburban, and rural bee populations.

(Need some lemon queen sunflower seeds? Try Renee's Garden. Bonus: When you use the code FR225A at checkout, Renee's will donate 25 percent of the proceeds to the Great Sunflower Project.)

5. Start a Garden

If gardening's really your thing, why not put in a honey bee garden? Featuring native plants and a few extra tips, here's a free, downloadable honey bee garden plan you can plant in order to provide local honey bees and other insect pollinators with rich sources of nectar and pollen.

One More Thing. . .

Pssst! There are hundreds of citizen science projects currently looking for volunteers. Check out CitizenScience.gov for even more opportunities to make a difference.

The article Five Ways You Can Really Help the Planet first appeared on The Mad Optimist Blog.

Lavandin versus Lavender: What's the Difference?

Wed, 17 Apr 2019 00:00:00 -0400

When creating your own amazing bodycare products in our Product Builder, you may have noticed that in the Scents section, we have both “Lavender” and “Lavandin” as scent options. But what is the difference? Read on to find out!

Short Intro to Botanical Classification

To grasp the difference and similarity between Lavender and Lavandin, it’s helpful to know a little regarding plant classification. The most important levels of classification are family, genus, and species:

Family

Family is a broad division, that includes multiple types of plants. In the case of Lavender and Lavandin, they both are part of the Lamiaceae family, also known as the mint family. Other plants in this family include peppermint, rosemary, basil, and thyme. Interestingly, all plants of one family usually have at least one common identifying feature. For example, the plants of the Lamiaceae, or mint, family have square stems. (They really do, you should feel this for yourself!)

Genus and species: Roses, T-rexes, and Neanderthals, oh my!

Genus is a more specific subdivision within a family. When we informally talk about a plant, such as an “oak” or “rose” what we’re usually referring to is the genus—the oak genus is "Quercus" and the rose genus is "Rosa." Similarly, the lavender genus is "Lavandula."

Now, within a genus, there is the final tier of classification—species. There are one or more species of plants within a genus and these species are essentially the different varieties of one type of plant. So, lavandin and lavender are just two species of the Lavandula genus (more on them below!).

FUN FACT!: When writing out the botanical or “Latin” name of a plant species, you write first the genus, then the specific epithet, like this: Tyrannosaurus rex (Tyrannosaurus is the genus, rex is the specific epithet within the genus). Another example: Homo sapiens (=humans), versus Homo neanderthalensis (=Neanderthals, also within the genus Homo).

Lavender - the genus Lavandula

The genus that we’re interested in is Lavandula, and all plants within this genus are considered to be “lavenders.” Within this genus, there are many subdivisions and species, and botanists are constantly revising their classifications. All in all, there are at least 20-40 species of lavender, all native to the Mediterranean (Southern Europe and Northern Africa) and the Middle East.

Of these many species, the varieties which are most used to produce essential oil are Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula x intermedia (a.k.a. Lavandula hybrida).

Lavender - “True” or “English” Lavender

Lavandula angustifolia is what many people in the aromatherapy industry refer to as “true” lavender, though technically all plants in the Lavandula genus are in fact true lavenders. This variety is a widely grown garden plant, and produces an essential oil that is delicate, floral, and a bit sweet. Oddly, The Mad Optimist staff describe the scent as what a lavender Jolly Rancher candy would smell like (in a good way!).

Lavender pairs well with other sweet and fresh scents such as Lime. Here’s a recipe for a wonderful soap with these two scents, and a dash of coconut milk powder for extra moisturization: LavenderLime Bonanza.

Lavandin - Hybrid Lavender

Lavandula x intermedia (which is also known by the name Lavandula hybrida) is the variety of lavender commonly called “lavandin.” Lavandin is a naturally occurring hybrid between two lavender species: Lavandula angustifolia (see above) and Lavandula latifolia (a.k.a “Spike Lavender” - a pungent-smelling lavender native to Mediterranean Europe). Lavandin is especially known for producing a LOT of essential oil, up to 10x more than English lavender!

Lavandin has a powerful lavender scent, with an herbal, camphor-like undertone. Due to its strength and popularity, we’ve added it to many of our Customer Favorites recipes. Try out this soap design, with a bracing blend of Lavandin and Tea Tree: Lavandin Tsunami.

Side note: Are hybrids safe? Hybrids versus GMOs.

You might be curious about the fact that Lavandin is a hybrid, and whether hybrids are natural or safe. In short, hybrids are safe AND natural—they are crosses between two different species, and can occur with or without human intervention. Lavandin, for example, exists in the wild in southern France, where spike lavender cross pollinates with true lavender. Hybrids can typically only occur between two closely related species.

GMOs on the other hand, are entirely artificial, created when humans extract genes from one organism, and insert them into another, regardless of how closely related they are. We’ll be doing an article of GMOs in the future; for now, check out these links:

www.smallfootprintfamily.com/hybrid-seeds-vs-gmos
www.organicconsumers.org/news/hybrid-seeds-vs-gmos#close

A Note on Aromatherapy

You might have noticed that we are NOT comparing or otherwise discussing the medicinal or aromatherapy uses of these two varieties of lavender.

Why is that? This is a topic for another post, however the core of the question lies with the rules and regulations put into place by the FDA in regards to various types of skin care products.

Basically, in regards to bodycare products, the regulations that we must follow ultimately derive from our marketing claims for our products:

If we sell soap that simply cleans or cleanses, we have zero regulations from the FDA.
If we sell products that moisturize, beautify, exfoliate or otherwise alter or enhance appearance, then our products are considered “cosmetics” for the purposes of regulation. This requires us to follow certain labeling guidelines, such as including the net weight, and having an accurate ingredient list. (Side note: this is in fact the category The Mad Optimist products fall into)
Finally, if we claim that our products heal, medicate, or “help with” any particular medical condition, then our products would be regulated as “drugs” and then we’d be required to have a regulated drug production facility (costing will into the millions of dollars), plus have each product tested and verified as effective for its medicinal purpose. Any companies which make medicinal claims for their products must follow these (extremely expensive) rules.

So that’s why we don’t make any specific medical or aromatherapy claims for our products or ingredients. We’d love to communicate these benefits to our customers, however we choose to follow the rules, and instead encourage our customers to do their own research into aromatherapy and the medicinal benefits of ingredients.

Conclusion

TLDR: Lavender and Lavandin are both “lavenders” in the Lavender family with slightly different scent profiles: LavENDER is sweet and floral, LavANDIN is strong and herbal. Both are wonderful, and we’re happy to offer both at The Mad Optimist. :-)

Here’s one final recipe, this time for a moisturizing bar soap with a powerful blend of both Lavender and Lavandin, the best of both worlds! Check it out here: Double Lav Latherific Scrub

We hope you enjoyed this fragrant journey of learning! Please let us know if you have any questions or comments. :-)

Citations

Bader, Sarah Berringer. The Lavender Lover’s Handbook: the 100 Most Beautiful and Fragrant Varieties for Growing, Crafting, and Cooking. Timber Press, 2012.
Lis-Balchin, Maria. Lavender: the Genus Lavandula. Taylor & Francis, 2002.
Mason, John. Growing & Knowing Lavender. ACS Distance Education.
McNaughton, Virginia. Lavender: The Grower's Guide. Timber Press, 2000.
Upson, Tim, et al. The Genus Lavandula. Timber Press, 2004.
“The Difference Between Open Pollinated, Hybrid and GMO Seeds.” Small Footprint Family, 13 Feb. 2019, www.smallfootprintfamily.com/hybrid-seeds-vs-gmos.
“Hybrid Seeds vs. GMOs.” Organic Consumers Association, www.organicconsumers.org/news/hybrid-seeds-vs-gmos.

The article Lavandin versus Lavender: What's the Difference? first appeared on The Mad Optimist Blog.

Sustainable Palm Oil 101

Wed, 20 Mar 2019 00:00:00 -0400

Recently, a few customers have written to us regarding our use of palm oil in our soaps. They were concerned about the environmental impact of the use of palm oil—and rightly so!

At The Mad Optimist, we decided early on that if we were going to use palm oil, it would need to be palm oil that has been certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and the Rainforest Alliance—and that's just the beginning.

Before we can really explain how and why these certifications matter, let’s look at the main issue with palm oil.

In the past 20 years a staggering amount of the orangutan’s habitat has been destroyed by deforestation. The palm oil tree, native to Africa, is grown primarily in Asia. In particular, most of the world’s palm oil comes from the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. Too often the procurement of palm oil is not done in a sustainable way. According to the World Wildlife Fund, the expansion of palm oil plantations is the leading cause of deforestation in these areas. This, in turn, endangers species such as the orangutan and the Sumatran tiger.

Sustainable Palm Oil?

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) sets strict guidelines for sustainable acquisition of palm oil from the rainforests. They have set criteria that minimize negative impacts on the environment. RSPO criteria state that primary forests containing high levels of biodiversity and fragile ecosystems cannot be destroyed.

The Rainforest Alliance forges partnerships with companies that value the responsible sourcing of palm oil to overcome economic pressures. The group states, “Together, we have helped prevent the deforestation of nearly 4.4 million hectares in high-risk landscapes and forest frontiers.” Learn more about Rainforest Alliance certified palm oil.

Our Palm Oil Supplier: Daabon

The Rainforest Alliance is just the beginning. We specifically chose to source our organic, sustainable palm oil from Daabon: an organization dedicated to producing radically sustainable palm oil. Here are just a few great things about Daabon, including certifications and recognitions. Daabon...

Is based in, and produces palm oil in, Colombia, where the threat to forests, and danger of deforestation, is extremely low—in Colombia, over 55 million hectares are degraded former pasture land. Planting palm oil trees that will live and produce palm fruit for decades protects the soil, and assists in carbon sequestration.
Volunteered to receive RSPO Next certification, a more stringent version of RSPO's certification.
Is a member if POIG (Palm Oil Innovation Group), which has extremely strict requirements.
Has been recognized by SPOTT, an independent initiative created by the Zoological Society of London, as the #1 rated sustainable palm oil producer (as of March 2019).

Our Role

Sure, choosing to use only Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) costs us more, compared to other palm oils on the market; however, we believe supporting sustainable palm is well worth the added expense. Including only the most carefully sourced CSPO in The Mad Optimist soaps allows us to make a positive environmental impact.

What’s more, CSPO also takes into account the needs of people worldwide who live in the rainforests and work in the palm oil industry.

Want to learn more about the positive effects associated with the sustainable palm oil movement? Check out this National Geographic article.

The article Sustainable Palm Oil 101 first appeared on The Mad Optimist Blog.

Try These Eco-Friendly Spring Cleaning Recipes and Tips

Wed, 06 Mar 2019 00:00:00 -0500

Spring's nearly here, and that means fresh air, chirping birds, and... spring cleaning, of course! To help you save money and walk a little more lightly on the earth, here are a few eco-friendly tips—and some recipes to make your own cleaning supplies, too! (Recipes adapted from a great little book we love—Make Your Place: Affordable, Sustainable Nesting Skills by Raleigh Briggs.)

Got bottles?—Save a few spray bottles from commercially prepared cleaning products to refill later with your own cleaning concoctions. For instance, if you have Windex or a similar glass-cleaner with a spray nozzle, thoroughly wash it out with hot, soapy water. (As you go, be sure to squirt soapy water through the spray nozzle, too!) Next, rinse well and allow to air dry. Fill with homemade Mirror Cleaner. (See recipe below.)

Rags to Riches—Save money and landfill space by using rags instead of paper towels. Cut into squares, old T-shirts or retired pajama pants can be used again and again for cleaning windows, mirrors, floors, and more. Simply launder them after each use and store with your cleaning supplies, so they'll be ready again when you are.

Soap scraps—You can grate small, leftover Mad Optimist bar soap scraps by hand or with a food processor to include in homemade laundry detergent. New, full-size soaps such as Lav-ida Loca also work well. (See recipe below.)

Mirror, mirror—Combine one-and-one-half cups of white vinegar, one-half cup water, four to eight drops of citrus-heavy essential oil like lemon, orange, or grapefruit. Alternately, you might try lemongrass, tea tree, or eucalyptus. Mix well, pour into a clean spray bottle, and label accordingly. Shake well before each use.

Mostly all-purpose cleaner—You'll need five cups grated soap, one-half cup baking soda, six cups hot peppermint or lemon peel tea, one teaspoon eucalyptus essential oil, and one teaspoon borax for this Make Your Place recipe. Simmer the grated soap and hot tea in a stainless steel saucepan for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Stir in the rest of the ingredients one at a time. Pour into a clean jug or spray bottle and label. Shake well before each use.

Sudsy duds—You can cut down on a lot of packaging waste by making your own laundry detergent. All you need is one-half cup grated bar soap, one-half cup baking soda, one-quarter cup washing soda, one-quarter cup borax, and the essential oils of your choice. (Peppermint and lavandin make a nice combination!) Store in a dry, airtight container and label. Use one-half cup for each regular-sized load of laundry.

The article Try These Eco-Friendly Spring Cleaning Recipes and Tips first appeared on The Mad Optimist Blog.

Why Soap Should Be Gluten-Free

Wed, 20 Feb 2019 00:00:00 -0500

We love learning from our customers! Recently, one of them wrote:

“Thank you for making gluten-free products and being an advocate for those of us with [celiac] disease. One correction I’d like to make to your explanation on your website is that celiac disease is not an 'extreme allergy.' It’s not an allergy at all but it IS an autoimmune disease. Ingesting gluten by people with celiac can be a life-threatening situation. Gluten destroys our small intestine, can cause bowel cancer, liver damage, bone damage, lymphoma, and more. We aren’t allergic to it. It will kill us. . . . Hope this helps in possibly rewording your website.”

Thanks to their input, we've revised our celiac and gluten-free soap information here! At The Mad Optimist, we work hard to make sure that our products are always 100%:

vegan (plant-based)
halal (Muslim-friendly)
cruelty-free (no animal testing)
gluten-free

Regarding that last bullet point, we've encountered plenty of people who roll their eyes at the concept of gluten-free soap. Invariably, they say something like, “Ugh. Gluten-free soap?! Everyone's jumping on the gluten-free bandwagon these days.”

But providing gluten-free products is very important to us for a couple of reasons. First, for people living with celiac disease like the customer we mentioned above, staying clear of gluten can be a matter of life and death.

Just What Is Celiac Disease?

An autoimmune condition associated with the consumption of gluten. (Check out “Immediate Hypersensitivity to a Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein.” in the 2012 Asian Journal of Dermatology for details.) And, while one doesn't typically ingest soap, the Gastrointestinal Society recommends that lip products, lotions, and any other bodycare products that could be ingested even accidentally by someone with celiac disease be gluten-free. (For more information, see "Celiac Disease & Skin Care Products," 2015.)

Aside from people with celiac disease, there are still others who have such extreme allergies to wheat that they break out in a rash if their skin comes into contact with gluten. After speaking with one of our customers about this condition at the local farmers' market, we became determined to make all of our products gluten-free. To that end, we extensively researched each of our ingredients and required all of our ingredient suppliers to submit documentation stating that their materials are free of gluten.

What We've Learned

During this process, we learned that two of our ingredients did contain gluten. They included oatmeal and cornmeal—naturally exfoliating materials that we frequently add to our bar soaps. While neither of these ingredients actually contains gluten, when we called the manufacturers, they said that their oatmeal and cornmeal are processed in facilities that also process wheat, barley, and/or rye—all of which contain gluten. As a result? We discontinued those ingredients, and found new, truly gluten-free suppliers.

Our certified gluten-free and organic rolled oatmeal.

Now we use only certified gluten-free oatmeal and cornmeal because the stakes are so high for our customers with celiac disease as well as those with skin sensitivities and allergies to gluten. And, although these certified ingredients are more expensive to source, we believe providing great, all-natural soaps and bodycare products for people who are limited in what they can use is well worth it. :-)

The article Why Soap Should Be Gluten-Free first appeared on The Mad Optimist Blog.

What Are We Reading in the Bathtub?

Sat, 09 Feb 2019 00:00:00 -0500

Do you take a bath, or read a book? Decisions, decisions…

Why not do both—Happy Read in the Bathtub Day!

In honor of today’s holiday, the Mad Optimist team is sharing their favorite books, and why they like them:

Mohammed A., Co-Founder and COO:

The Atlantis Gene: A Thriller by A.G. Riddle

The Atlantis Gene-inspired bath soak recipe:

MYSTERIOUS MISH-MASH

-2 parts Patchouli
-1 part Eucalyptus
-1 part Star Anise

Mohammed M., Co-Founder and CEO:

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
A nice story of generosity and selflessness. Please note: I like the tree, but not how the boy is mean to the tree.
Inner Engineering: A Yogi's Guide to Joy by Sadhguru
Sadhguru is my favorite speaker to listen to on YouTube, and this is his main book. He teaches people to see the world differently, and realize that your world is your own making. He applies the Mad Optimist values to the individual!

The Giving Tree-inspired bath soak recipe:

MEDITATIVE MIX

-2 parts Cedarwood
-1 part Fir Needle
-1 part Lime

Anthony, Co-Founder and CMO:

The Weird of Hali: Innsmouth by John Michael Greer
The first book of my favorite fantasy series! An epic fantasy that takes H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos, but flips it on its head: the tentacled creatures and the human beings who associate with them are the good guys...
The Permaculture Handbook: Garden Farming for Town and Country by Peter Bane
A comprehensive, but easy-to-read guide to permaculture—the art, craft, and science of creating eco-friendly, sustainable human ecosystems, including a re-envisioning of agriculture.

The Weird of Hali-inspired bath soak recipe:

CTHULHU FHTAGN

-1 part Rosemary
-1 part Cedarwood
-1 part Patchouli
-1 part Geranium

Kay, Account and Systems Specialist:

Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
It is a beautifully written novel (translated originally from Spanish) that will suck you in and throw you a twist you won’t expect!
The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
It’s Harry Potter. Enough said. "Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus.” HP Fo’Life!

Harry Potter-inspired bath soak recipe:

POTTERHEAD POWERSOAK

-2 parts Cedarwood
-1 part Fir Needle
-1 part Patchouli

Eric, Production and Fulfillment Specialist:

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Robinson Crusoe-inspired bath soak recipe:

CLOVE-ISH ADVENTURE

-1 part Cedarwood
-1 part Clove
-1 part Fir Needle
-1 part Star Anise

Susan, Communications Specialist:

Watership Down by Richard Adams
The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams
To grossly oversimplify, these are books about rabbits and dogs having assorted adventures, respectively. But they are so imaginative and beautifully written that I read and re-read them every few years. They hold up. And each time they end, I cry my eyes out. If I'm going to be soaked in briny tears anyway, I might as well simultaneously lounge in a steamy, fragrant, salty bath, right?...

Watership Down-inspired bath soak recipe:

HAZEL’S HEAVEN

-1 part Cedarwood
-2 parts Geranium
-1 part Lavender

[Please note: this post contains Amazon affiliate links—if you click these links and purchase a book, The Mad Optimist will use the affiliate income to further our Humanifesto mission. :-)]

The article What Are We Reading in the Bathtub? first appeared on The Mad Optimist Blog.

Add Some Spice to Your Life with Cardamom!

Thu, 07 Feb 2019 00:00:00 -0500

Variety is the spice of life, so we thought we'd add some ground cardamom seed powder to our ingredient mix at TheMadOptimist.com! Cardamom powder is derived from green cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum), an herbaceous, perennial plant in the ginger family.

“It's a very mild exfoliant, and it adds a sort of sweet, spicy scent,” according to one of our resident soapsmiths, Anthony Duncan. Just how mild is it? Somewhere between a soft kitty's ear and a tomcat's whiskers.

We've found cardamom's light scent blends best with clove, lavandin, lavender, and patchouli, and we've whipped up some suggested recipes for you to try:

Ebony Spice

This deep-black bar combines activated charcoal with cardamom powder for a powerfully seductive blend of spice and earth.

Scents:

-1 part Patchouli
-1 part Clove
-1 part Cedarwood
-1 part Star Anise

Add-ins:

-1 part Cardamom powder
-2 parts Activated Charcoal

Classic Clove + Cardamom

This time-tested recipe was our very first with cardamom, and it's always been a favorite.

Scents:

-4 parts Clove essential oil

Add-ins:

-3 parts Cardamom powder

Zesty Bouquet

This scent blend pairs nicely with Cardamom powder, and brings out the sweetness, as well as the spiciness of our newest add-in. (Pro-tip: This scent blend also works wonderfully as a bath soak!)

Scents:

-1 part Clove
-2 parts Lavandin
-1 part Geranium

Add-ins:

-3 parts Cardamom powder

Rather experiment with your own cardamom concoctions? Get started now!

The article Add Some Spice to Your Life with Cardamom! first appeared on The Mad Optimist Blog.