I've been a real hypocrite. How can I talk about going green with my soap ingredients when some of the fragrance oils I use contain phthalates? Phthalates are a large family of colorless, odorless (or low odor), oily compounds used in many everyday products. Phthalates are used for different purposes-to make vinyl soft and flexible, and to plasticize toys among other things. In the case of personal care products, they are used to make fragrances last longer. You can read more about phthalates here.
If you are a maker of bath and body products, you'll see some fragrances listed as being "P-free." Now you know what it means. The fragrance oil contains no phthalates. Southern Soapers carries a line of P-free fragrances, and Wholesale Supplies Plus has recently made the decision to transition all of their fragrance oils to P-free. While it may limit my choices, my conscious will be clear in knowing that I'm offering a product that really is eco-friendly and natural. Oh goodness, I just had a thought: What if they say the world's supply of olive oil is harvested by slave labor or something?
