Licences....what's the issue?

My journey starting Soap-Dodger was hard enough with the smaller details like branding, logos and actually learning to make the products being the initial things that come to mind. However, that's actually not the hard part! The biggest challenge for me was keeping up with legislation and following all the procedures when making bath and body products.

The reason I wanted to touch on this subject was because I sometimes get extremely irritated when I see 'new makers' who when questioned don't appear to have licences of any kind. If a current maker challenges a new maker, that can sometimes be perceived as 'sour grapes' that you have competition. In my case it is the polar opposite. I welcome other makers in any industry and think it's always great to see new brands. However, because I take my responsibilities seriously I can get pissed off when I see people swan in with not a care in the world thinking it's okay to just make what they want and sell it to people.

Sadly the problem is made even more complicated when talking about different Countries. For me here in the UK the guidelines are clear and strict (as they should be) and my advice to anyone would be ensure people you are buying from (such as Indie brands) have the correct licensing and insurance in place. As much as some may find the content of licensing and the like boring, I still wanted to explain it as this may help other new makers navigating the system. For those that are curious it may explain how much work and detail has to go into creating and manufacturing your own products!

I take my business and its responsibilities seriously but now realise that back when I had my licences issued I received a lot more flexibility than is on offer to new makers now. Once you have your Cosmetic Product Safety Report (CPSR) that means you are ready to place stuff on the market but you have very strict rules regarding things such as ingredients and labelling. However, when a licence is issued to you, which is done by a cosmetics safety assessor this is just the beginning. Your licence is huge and has pages and pages of what you can and cannot use in your products. This is like your master document that all makers should regularly check to ensure their products meet their licence details. That is just step 1!

Back when I started the regulations around bath and body products were strict (and still are) however we were abiding by the EU Regulations and there was a LOT to learn. In addition to your CPSR, you then have to ensure you log your products onto Cosmetic Products Notification Portal. I have to admit when I started this I was totally overwhelmed, however once you start using the system and get an idea how it all works you just have to try and be methodical.

In addition to the first two steps in products you have to ensure you have certain things in place such as Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). This is details surrounding where and how you make your products. You have to also keep a Product Information File (PIF) which is a detailed up to date batch file for each product. This has to contain all key information such as ingredients list and manufacturing method. The final thing that had to be worked on was labelling! Don't get me started on this as it can be a minefield. You have to label using whats called INCI lists so this is the ingredients correct name.

In all honesty after the first year of doing this I was spending so much time on the paperwork I was beginning to wonder if it was worth the hassle. Thankfully I persevered and now although the place I report products to has changed (post Brexit) the process for me as a maker in the business this long has become a lot easier to manage. My overall thought of the day to buyers is please make sure you are buying from a maker that has all of these things in place. This is also a good way to explain that when makers price products it isn't a simple formula of how much the products take to make, you have to consider there are many more factors to add in to that equation.

Anyhoo, enough of the boring talk just thought I would share a little more of my journey with you wonderful people