In February 2020 Ethical Consumer sent Caurnie Soap Co a questionnaire, requesting information about its environmental policies and practices. No response was received. Ethical Consumer therefore searched the company’s website, caurnie.com, in March 2020 for publicly available information. No report could be found.

The website stated: “The Caurnie Soaperie in Kirkintilloch first opened in 1922. The aim was simple: to create Scottish natural skin care products from organic herbs and essential oils...Furthermore, we try source all our ingredients locally, and use ethical methods of farming and processing’

Its soaps were also said to be chemical-free and vegan.

The company also appeared to continue to use a traditional cold pressed method for producing its soaps which it sold at a number of farmers’ markets.

As Caurnie Soap was a small company that was offering a range of environmental alternatives, it received Ethical Consumer’s best rating for Environmental Reporting.

In March 2020, Ethical Consumer searched Caurie Soap's website for the company's policy on the use of microplastics and non-biodegradable liquid polymers. No information was found. The company had also been sent a questionnaire but no response was received.

According to Beat the Microbead, there are more than 500 known microplastics ingredients that can be found in our personal care products such as toothpastes, face washes, scrubs and shower gels. They are tiny plastic particles that are added for their exfoliating properties, but sometimes purely for aesthetic purposes only.

According to a recent report by Code Check, non-biodegradable liquid polymers were also prevalent across a wide range of cosmetic products. Like microplastics, these materials degrade with a similar difficulty in the environment and may cause similar harm.

In 2018, the UK government banned the use of microbeads in toothpastes, shower gels and facial scrubs. However, some products classified as “leave on” were not subject to the ban, this would include lotions, sun cream and makeup, as well as abrasive cleaning products. This ban did not extend to non-biodegradable liquid polymers.

Given that the company lacked a clear policy on the use of microplastics and non-biodegradable liquid polymers, it lost half a mark under Pollution and Toxics.

In February 2020 Ethical Consumer sent Caurnie Soap Co a questionnaire, requesting information about its approach to toxic chemicals. No response was received. Ethical Consumer therefore searched the company’s website, caurnie.com, in March 2020 for publicly available information.

The website stated: “The Caurnie Soaperie in Kirkintilloch first opened in 1922. The aim was simple: to create Scottish natural skin care products from organic herbs and essential oils. The business met with instant success…we source all our ingredients locally, and use ethical methods of farming and processing...if you have sensitivity to the chemicals in commercial skin care products, we can help. We have organic, chemical-free alternatives. These give relief to skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema.”

In January 2017 Ethical Consumer spoke to James Little at Caurnie Soap. He confirmed that the company did not use parabens, phthalates or triclosan in its products.

Ethical Consumer considered this to be a positive policy on toxics and so Caurnie Soap received Ethical Consumer’s best rating for its toxics policy.

In February 2020 Ethical Consumer sent Caurnie Soap Co a questionnaire, requesting information about its palm oil sourcing policies and practices. No response was received. Ethical Consumer therefore searched the company’s website, caurnie.com, in March 2020 for publicly available information.

No evidence of palm oil use could be found on the company's website.

In January 2017 Ethical Consumer spoke to James Little at Caurnie Soap. He confirmed that the company's products were palm oil free and that this included palm kernel oil and palm derivatives.

As the company's products appeared to be palm oil free Caurnie Soap recieved a Best Ethical Consumer rating for palm oil.