I received an order but no invoice or receipt? Why didn’t I receive one?
When you placed an order, a receipt and invoice should have been e-mailed to you. We don’t print them in an effort to reduce paper waste. If you require another copy of your receipt or order, please contact us and we will e-mail another copy.
Why don’t you ship overseas?
We really want to remain as local as possible. There are likely companies in your area that can offer you what you’re looking for. If you really want us to provide something to you, you can always contact us with your suggestion. We can’t guarantee anything but at the very least we can look into it.
Do you ship with plastic?
No. We hated receiving items shipped and packaged in plastic, which is why we created this site. That being said, you may notice that some of our boxes look gently loved or have labels on them that don’t make sense. With reasonable care and caution, we use boxes and wrapping that stores were about to throw away. We use paper tape too.
But what about the things you order?
Most items we try to source from local businesses and wholesale suppliers mostly within Canada to reduce the amount of packaging and travel. Sometimes we might source from the U.S. (because technically it’s the same piece of land as Canada) but we try to stay close to home. We often correspond directly with them to find out what their practices are and to ask that they also do not ship their items to us in plastic. We can not guarantee this however, but we can guarantee that you won’t receive any of it so that the waste stops with us.
Why do you plant trees or garden?
Because we understand what shipping products means and we want to do our best to offset our carbon footprint. If we’re taking away something from the Earth, the best thing we can do is to give back. We plant a tree, garden and consider permaculture for every item we ship in or out. We support or volunteer with organizations like Ecology Ottawa and Tree Ottawa.
Why do some of your soaps contain lard?
For vegans (and yes, one of us is) it can be difficult to understand using such material, however both of us believe in reducing waste where possible. Lard is an animal by-product and is considered waste. This is normally thrown away by people in the meat industry so rather than it go to landfill, our soap-maker turns it into something useful. The use of lard helps the soaps remain harder and last longer without the use of any chemicals. Soap For Sale obtains their lard from Heritage Harvest Farm, a locally based organic farm. We also have vegan soap options with natural ingredients.
Why are your soaps not the same size or shape, like conventional soaps?
Because the bars are hand cut, each one will look slightly different. They range from about 130g-150g.
Zero Waste Ottawa 