Spitalfields soap trader Eliza cleans up at Olympia’s Organic Skincare awards
![Eliza Riddell [inset] and her All Natural Soap stall at Spitalfields Market](https://images.cm.archant.co.uk/resource/responsive-image/3496608/article-lead-image/xs/1/el-31-business-soap-award-spit.jpg)
Eliza Riddell [inset] and her All Natural Soap stall at Spitalfields Market - Credit: All Natural Soap Co
Spitalfields market trader Eliza Riddell’s All Natural Soap Company cleaned up with medals in the this year’s Natural Love Organic Skincare Show awards.
She took Gold and Silver in the ‘Hard Soaps’ category, although there’s nothing ‘hard’ about her stuff on the skin.
Eliza handmakes her soaps in a small garage workshop and has a regular clientele at Spitalfields.
“We’ve beaten off the big players such as Neal’s Yard with a staff of just two,” she said.
“We love selling our soaps from a stall in the market wich keeps the connection with what our customers want.”
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Eliza uses fat from olive oil and shea butter from nuts imported from Ghana.
“I went into making soap because of my own sensitive skin needs,” the 34-year-old entrepreneur told the East London Advertiser.
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“I bought natural soap from France to try, which were better than the stuff in the supermarket, but found the ingredients were still synthetic.
“So I looked into how to do it naturally and made some with pure olive oil which made my skin feel better.”
Eliza started production in her garage, set up a website and took a market stall at Spitalfields. The soap is hand-made in small batches using an energy-efficient traditional ‘cold process’ technique to make sure it is biodegradable, free of palm oil and 100 per cent vegetarian. None is tested on animals.
“I use myself as a guinea pig,” she explained. “But customers also help test stuff as well.
“I developed a soap for one woman who was sensitive to sunlight and had to use a ‘50’ sunblock and never felt clean or wash properly. Everything she tried left ‘angry’ skin. I came up with a gentle Coco Castile.”
Now, three years on, Eliza has ‘swept the board clean’ at Olympia at the Love Natural, Love Organic skincare awards presented by holistic health guru Janey Lee Grace.
The Awards were set up to encourage makers against using harmful allergens, chemicals and additives linked to sensitive skin allergies, as well as concerns for health and the environment.
The All Natural Soap company has also won medals for its Minty Scrub and Oatmeal soaps in the Green Parent magazine awards.
