HONESDALE, Pa. — Editor's Note: This story originally aired in June of 2019.
A mom has turned an idea she came up with to help her daughter into an eco-friendly business in the Poconos.
Making sustainable soap isn't new to Kristen Knash.
"Initially, I started when I was probably in middle school, you know, hobby, arts, and crafts. I was all into it," Knash said.
When her oldest daughter was born with eczema, she knew how to help.
"With having the eczema problems, I was creating more homemade soaps that met her needs while also remaining sustainable using essential oils instead of fragrances."
Making soap for her daughter quickly turned into her own online sustainable soap business that she runs out of her Honesdale home.
The Sustainable Soap shop sources ingredients locally.
"We use some local business' coffees in ours, so they're organic and locally sourced, so we're helping other local businesses."
Knash sources some of the ingredients for her soaps right from the flower garden in front of her home, and the paper that she wraps it in is sustainable as well, so wherever it falls, flowers and fruits grow wherever it goes.
Knash started making the paper she wraps her soaps in about six months ago to make sure that every aspect of her soap is sustainable. We had her show us how she incorporates seeds in the paper-making process.
"We have shredded paper, mixed in a blender with water, and it's poured onto reused screens. These are old thrown out screens that nobody wanted. They're mixed with seeds right at the end so that they aren't being damaged," Knash said.
The label for the soap is printed on recycled paper. All of this is part of Knash's commitment to the environment.
"The environment is very important to me, always has been."