Ontario's Best Small-batch Soap Makers
Canada is full of creative artisans, unique makers and family-run businesses. Local Ontario small-batch soap makers are often a combination of all three, whipping up homemade soaps in amazing flavours, shapes and colours. From soap made from buffalo milk straight from the farm, to vegan-friendly creations, discover some of the best small-batch soap makers in Ontario and help support Canadian small businesses.
Purple Urchin
Ottawa, Ontario
Started as a small home-based business, Purple Urchin is an Ottawa-based soap maker that has made it’s mark. Their soaps are 100% vegetarian, biodegradable, with vegan-friendly options and are made with high quality fragrance and essential oils.
Purple Urchin takes pride in protecting the environment wherever possible. Their soaps are palm oil free, preventing deforestation of rainforest in developing counties, packaged in compostable and biodegradable cellophane, and they also offer a refill program for liquid products, and allow you to bring your own bottle along to save on packaging.
Signature products:
Traditional bar soap and liquid hand soaps: Turkish Fig, Mojito, lavender-limeade, rosemary mint
Exfoliating scrubs: coffee, lemon brown sugar, black pepper birch
Winter hand and lip balms: honeycomb, maple walnut
Rawdon Creek Soap
Stirling, Ontario
Located in the small town of Stirling Ontario, Rawdon Creek Soap is a unique small-batch soap maker creating luxurious hand-crafted soaps using water buffalo milk. Water buffalo milk is higher in fat than cow's milk, and is also jammed packed with vitamin E, minerals, antioxidants and proteins, which helps to nourish and moisturize dry skin. The milk is sourced from the nearby Ontario Water Buffalo Company, and is cured naturally with no hardeners or accelerants.
Signature products:
Bar soaps: Lavender & Eucalyptus, Sage, Charcoal tea tree, Brewed and Barreled
Tallow balm: Soothing citrus, Lucious lavender
Garden Path Homemade Soap
Vankleek Hill, Ontario
Only a short drive into Ottawa's countryside, nestled on a 5-acre heritage farm surrounded by lush gardens, you'll find Garden Path Homemade Soap. Founded in 2009, this unique Ontario soap maker produces over 50 different products which are biodegradable, made using the cold press method with all-natural ingredients, and are wrapped in recyclable packaging.
What makes Garden Path Homemade Soap so unique is their beautiful gardens, which are used to harvest ingredients for their bath and body products. If you stop by the farm you’ll have the opportunity to tour the property to explore their extensive flower, herb and lavender gardens, and watch their bee hives in action. With pollinators top of mind, Garden Path Homemade has also been a designated a Monarch Butterfly Waystation since 2012, and aims to increase the worldwide Monarch population, by providing a floral haven for butterflies passing through.
Signature products:
Bar and liquid hand soaps
Body care: body butters, lip balms
Wiggle baby: all-natural gentle baby soaps and shampoos
Men’s care line: beard oils, saving creams
Home care products: stain sticks, toilet bombs, soy candles
1000 Islands Soap Co.
Kingston, ON
With their home base in the heart of vibrant Kingston, ON with their roots in the beautiful 1000 Islands, 1000 Islands Soap Co., offers great handmade soaps, keeping eco-friendliness and supporting local top of mind.
Sourcing from small businesses in Kingston; from olive oil to coffee, 1000 Island Soap Co. has a huge range of all-natural products which come in some fun and unique scents that will have you stocking up. Along with bar soaps they offer, shampoos, deodorants, body scrubs, bath bombs, medicinal roll-ons, foot care and more.
With environmental sustainability top of mind, they make reducing waste easy with a soap refilling station in store, and each of their soap bars is wrapped with a composable coffee filter wrap, reducing plastic waste to help the environment.
Signature products:
Bar soaps: Canadian Maple Eh!, Kingstonian, Wolfe Islands, Tea tree & cucumber, charcoal, honey bee
Natural remedy line: sore muscles, eczema, hot flash spray, nail & cuticle butter
Bath bombs and shower steamers
Shampoo & Conditioner
Buck Naked Soap Company
Cambridge, Ontario
Buck Naked Soap Company's founders Rina and John created their small batch soap business out of necessity. When their son Elias developed skin irritations from traditional baby products, the pair decided to develop their own creation to help heal his skin. Their final creation was a chamomile and calendula soap; a soaps that continues to be one of their best sellers to this day. With the recipe perfected the pair launched their careers as small-batch Canadian soap makers.
Buck Naked Soaps are all-natural, vegan-friendly, chemical-free, and use only natural ingredients. Their soaps come in beautiful nature-inspired scents, perfect for relaxing, unwinding, or waking you up in the morning. One of their most unique products are their Naked Bath Melts. A combination of luxury butters, oils and essential oils are combined to create a silky butter that melts into your bath water.
Signature products:
Naked Bath Melts
Bar and liquid soaps: balsam fir & lavender, charcoal & anise, citrus & comfrey, juniper & spruce
Millk baths and salt soaps
Beard Things for men: Canadian glacial clay shaving soap, beard oils, pre-shave oil, beard balms
Park Naked for pets: shampoos, paw butter, nose balm
Sage and Thistle Handmade Goods
Toronto, ON
Organic botanical bath and skin care is at the heart of small-bath soap maker, Sage and Thistle. Using all-natural ingredients, including seasonal herbs and produce from their own organic garden, they specialize in soaps, skin care, bath and body products that are free of palm oil, chemicals, and any unnatural additives. Shop at their small Toronto store, online, or watch for them at pop ups and event around the GTA.
Signature products:
Bar soaps: Lavender & white sage, sweet lemon and honey
Bath salts, soaks and scrubs: Boreal Forest, Bergamot and lavender
Salves, lip butters, balms: Calendula & wild herbs, Cedar Forest
