FURTHER Products Hand Soap

One of the biggest kicks I get from writing blog is hearing the stories and environmental commitment behind the brands. An exceptionally cool one arrived in my inbox recently from FURTHER Hand Soap. It's a reuse-recycle inspiration that's been praised in InStyle, Daily Candy and New York magazine.

Several years ago, an environmentally conscious California man named Marshall Dostal decided that he wanted to use biodiesel in his car.  He decided to swing by L.A. restaurants to pick up their used vegetable grease to distill into biofuel, which he later did in his garage.  He realized that he could use the by-product, glycerin—a humectant and skin-repairing ingredient commonly used in cosmetics—to make hand soap.  

His savvy wife, once an event planner at Vogue, enlisted a former fragrance consultant at the Gap to make the soap's scent more botanical, less spaghetti al pomodoro.  And voilà.  The fresh-smelling, wonderfully moisturizing FURTHER Soap was born.

Pretty factor:  Bergamot and exotic grasses lend an aroma that's an even fresher, more natural version of Gap Grass. The soap foams generously but moisturizes richly with coconut oil, olive oil, and yes, glycerin.  It's the perfect springtime treat for your kitchen or bath.

To buy: $12.50 at furtherproducts.com and these retailers