The Cleethorpes soap maker on a mission to provide natural, eco-friendly and sustainable products for all

A Cleethorpes business owner whose hobby began at a young age when she had her own soap collection is on a mission to do her bit for the environment and is encouraging her customers to do the same - one refill at a time.

Helen Watson began making soaps and bath milk to help with her young son's eczema in 2010, before setting up her business and branching out to sell her products at events and farmers' markets across the country.

After sales on her website "flew" during the Covid-19 lockdown with people eager to get their hands on her products - all of which were made on her kitchen table at home - she decided she needed a base to both make and sell her items.

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In October 2021, she opened The Soap Shack in a retail unit on Meridian Road, Cleethorpes. Nearly three years on, Helen's main focus is to provide eco-friendly, sustainable, refillable and affordable products - all of which are sulfate and paraben-free.

Speaking to Grimsby Live, Helen said: "I've always collected soap, it's something I've always been interested in. At first we did lots of farmers' markets and events - we travelled all over - then Covid struck, and all the events were cancelled. We started to panic a little bit so I set up the website and it flew through lockdown.

"Everybody was at home and everybody was buying things. So in the second lockdown, I decided we needed a shop with a workspace to make the orders from, because I was making everything from my kitchen table, which was hard with the kids at home.

"Even before we had the shop, I always made my packaging plastic-free. We switched from using cellophane to a plant-based film, so all my packaging is biodegradable and compostable. Then we started making solid shampoos, traditional shaving soaps - things that people were using in a plastic bottle we started to make solid versions of, so people didn't need the plastic bottle.

"But people out there still want a liquid shampoo and shower gels, so the next best thing was the refills. Once we knew we had the shop, I found Miniml, a small business that sends us products in big drums which are taken back and sanitised, sterilised and refilled once they're empty, so nothing is thrown away."

As well as soaps, bath bombs, bath salts, solid shampoos and conditioners and face masks, customers can also bring in their own bottles and dispense the refillable Miniml products into them. These include shampoos, conditioners, body wash, laundry detergent, washing-up liquid, toilet cleaner and white vinegar, both scented and unscented.

Helen continued: "The refill side of things is really taking off. When you go to big cities it's a lot more prominent but round here there isn't really anything. But we're so close to the sea and the amount of plastic that ends up in the sea is quite scary.

"I went into a supermarket and was surprised at all the different products on the shelf, and they're all packaged and branded differently. They all have different uses, but do we really need a different product to clean every surface?

"When you look at the back of them, most ingredients are the same. With a bottle of white vinegar, you can clean almost anything. We're trying to convince people they can cut down the amount of chemicals they use in the home and cut down on the amount of plastic they're throwing away."

When asked how it feels that her hobby has grown into a successful business, Helen said: "I'm proud of it. I don't necessarily think of myself as a business, because I enjoy what I'm doing so it never feels like work.

"During lockdown I really missed having that in-person contact with our regulars at the markets, so when this unit came up it was lovely to get back to talking to customers. You get to know the customers, and they become more like friends."

The Soap Shack is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11am to 3pm, Fridays and Saturdays from 10am to 4pm and Sundays from 11am to 3pm.