Barbara A. Thomas began making soap in the early 1990s while studying integrated chemical engineering at MIT. The Sustainable Business Network (SBN) of Massachusetts now recognizes her Artifact Soapworks as one of Massachusetts’ most environmentally friendly small enterprises.
Every year, the award is given out by the SBN, a non-profit dedicated to fostering a more environmentally friendly local economy.
She is one of seven small business owners in Massachusetts who received the 2024 Sustainable Business Award in February.
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Thomas uses biodegradable, organic components to create and market her soaps. She makes soaps in the form of statues and well-known people, such as Buddha, gargoyles, and Venus of Willendorf.
The businesswoman gets her soapmaking supplies from local farmers and businesses. She buys shea butter and olive oil from Catania Oils, a family-run company in Ayer, Massachusetts.
She also uses manual tools to reduce her carbon footprint and practices sustainable production.
She told the Harvard Crimson, “I had no idea that a small business as small as mine, let alone someone working out of their studio, was on the radar for such a prestigious award. Because the types of people that win this award are farms or indigenous shellfishers or people with brick-and-mortar.”
According to Thomas, one of her professors at MIT gave extra credit to students who completed batch processing tasks outside of class, and producing soap was one of those assignments.
“I decided to make soap, and I started giving it to my family and friends during Christmastime,” Thomas stated. “Just like when you have, like, a fruitcake that you give out—something that’s traditional and delicious or only expected during the holiday seasons in December.”
After her family began sharing her soap with their friends and relatives in New York, she decided to turn Artifact Soapworks into an LLC.
“Anyone can make square soap, but I like to make soaps that look like artifacts,” Thomas said.
Her soaps are influenced by her values and experiences.
According to her, she tries to be transparent with her clients, use pure, mostly vegan ingredients, and apply chemical engineering concepts to create soaps that are beneficial to both the environment and the users.
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Thomas also teaches individuals how to produce their own soap to raise awareness of the negative effects soap use has on the environment.
“Some of the people who take my class do start their own soap businesses,” she said. “And I’m like, ‘You don’t need to outsource to other countries, there are local places here you can use and this is the best way that I can teach you to save water or to upcycle soap molds.’”
Artifact Soapworks recently participated in the Black History Month Marketplace Pop-Up at Harvard Square.
According to the business owner, this was a great opportunity to introduce the local community to her online company and other Black-owned companies.
Thomas said the pop-up also brings attention to the difficulties Black business owners face, particularly in costly areas like Cambridge.
“This month, coming together as black business owners, or just acknowledging Black History Month, it serves as a catalyst for difficult but necessary conversations about systemic racism, both historically and present day,” Thomas stated.
She continued, “Me, by choice, decided to be a home business, but some people aren’t doing pop-ups by choice. They want a store, and they’re looking for something that they can afford near their home here in Cambridge.”
