Welcome To The Guild of Craft Soap & Toiletry Makers

The Guild of Craft Soap & Toiletry Makers was formed by a group of dedicated crafters in September 2007. The Guild officially launched on Friday 14th Sept 2007.

The Guild has two very specific aims:

(1) to raise awareness of the legislative standards that are in place that apply to craft soap and toiletry makers

(2) To register as members of the Guild crafters who work in compliance with this legislation and who hold relevant public liability insurance

It is not generally known that in order to legally sell a crafted soap or toiletry product to the public that it must meet legislative guidelines. The reason for this is public safety.

About The Legislation


The legislation sets standards. It ensures that every ingredient in handcrafted soap & toiletry products is safe to use on the human body. Some ingredients are banned because they've been found by scientific testing to be potentially harmful. Other products are banned or restricted because they are potential allergens. The aim of the legislation is to protect the general public and the craft soap & toiletry maker.

Who can join the Guild?

The Guild is free to join and is open to:

Any craft soap & toiletry maker within the European Union area who can demonstrate that they are in compliance with the legislation by producing written evidence from a qualified person that their formulations have been assessed and passed as satisfactory, and who hold product insurance where applicable.
We made the decision to accept applications from non UK based crafters in February 2010.

The Guild does not set standards, our aim is to raise awareness of those that already exist.

What do I gain by joining the Guild?

You are making yourself known as a craft soap & toiletry maker who cares enough to comply with the relevant legislation. You can let your customers know this by stating that you're a member of the Guild on your promotional literature.

You can also tell other people about the Guild and encourage them to join. This will isolate and identify those craft soap & toiletry makers who aren't in compliance.

Additional information about the Guild

The Guild exists to raise awareness of existing standards.  The Guild does not set standards, these have already been put in place by Government.  Neither does the Guild involve itself in approving suppliers of raw materials and products.  As raw materials used in craft products must be safety tested and certified before the end product can be legally sold, standards in the area of supply are maintained by those who test the products.  Testing is carried out by chemists who have undergone specialist training.  Contact details for the Society of Cosmetic Scientists are included on our FAQ page

Honorary members

This section of the site is dedicated to people who have greatly influenced or contributed to the development of the craft soap & toiletry industry.  People listed on this page may or may not be active crafters (retail) but their contributions deserve recognition - click here

The Guild Logo is only to be used by our members.  Any other use is only with our written permission!