About Ithaca Soap

The Ithaca Soap founders

In March 1999, Andy and Wendy went on their ONE date. They made soap in Dec. that year and decided to make a business out of it right then.

17th Century Suds, Ltd (17CS) was founded. Wendy created all of the recipes, taking time and patience to perfect each one. Andy joined the manufactory part of the business in 2004 and since 2006 has since been head of the entire production facility. In 2013 Ithaca Soap was branded for the soap division of the company. LiXTiK Lip Balm was branded in 2015. Ithaca Soap and LiXTiK Lip Balm are registered trademarks. 

Ithaca Soap Bar Soap, Instant Liquid Soap, Olive Oil Shampoo Bar, and  LiXTiK  Beeswax Lip Balm are about making the most cost effective luxury soaps and lip balms, that actually add to your personal care health. Andy and Wendy developed this product line to fill a void in their own personal care experience.

Ithaca Soap is a company, located in the heart of The Finger Lakes, based in Ithaca, NY, since 1999.

Lather, product effectiveness, 100% responsibly sourced natural ingredients, our zero waste journey and commitment, and a feeling good energy are values empowering each bar of soap, Instant Liquid Soap refill, Shampoo Bar, and lip balm. 

LiXTiK Beeswax Lip Balm uses premium NYS beeswax, making each application a truly lip soothing experience. One application will hydrate, smooth, and comfort lips longer than expected. 

Ithaca Soap and LiXTiK Beeswax Lip Balm use only organic and natural ingredients. Simple, easy to read ingredients.

Ithaca Soap's entire personal care line is free from parabens, sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate, poly vinyls, alcohols or extracts, hydrogenated, bleached or synthetic vegetable oils, artificial fragrances or colorings, mineral colors or phthalates, just to name a few. Our body care conditions your skin, hair and lips to be soft, smooth and glow with its own natural beauty. Read more about that here.

Since we are unable to farm our own, responsibly grown and processed palm oil, we do not use it. ever. 

Our company name is 17th Century Suds, Ltd. 17CS is a family owned, environmentally friendly and socially responsible company. 

In 2001 Ithaca Soap joined the Ithaca Farmer's Market. If you haven't been, this market is an Internationally recognized farmers market. What's unique about it is the number of innovative organic farmers, small producer high end craft businesses, and the international cuisine offered by our food vendors.

Each business adds to the collective market personality, which is distinctively Ithaca.

It is a member run cooperative with somewhere around 160  members, all doing business within a 30 mile radius. Each business is juried to guarantee quality. This is a what a local economy looks like in action.

 It's been a wild ride.

Ithaca Soap's Sustainable Packaging

 Did you know this about Ithaca Soap and LiXTiK Natural Lip Balm?

  1. 95% of our packaging and machinery is US manufactured, mostly in NYS. Before March 2020 we could say all of our packaging...
  2. All of our ingredients are sustainably farmed and processed.  
  3. Ithaca Soap Bars, Olive Oil Shampoo Bars and LiXTiK Beeswax Lip Balm display boxes are made from pre consumer recycled paperboard and are manufactured in New York State.
  4. Instant Liquid Soap Refill is a revolutionary dry liquid soap, packaged in a paper bag. It weighs 80% less than other liquid soaps and frees up 50% shipping space. Just add water at home in a recycled bottle that didn't go to the landfill. Click here for more information. Contact us for the white paper.
  5. LiXTiK Beeswax Lip Balm tubes are manufactured in the US.
  6. All labels are manufactured in NYS.
  7. All marketing materials: biz cards, stickers, etc...are printed and manufactured in the US.
  8. All of our organic sunflower oil is grown in the US and our bees wax is collected from New York State bee keepers.
  9. All of our shipping materials are paperboard, cardboard, recycled and reused.  

Zero Waste

Since we do not purchase carbon credits, which is essentially buying the right to pollute, we are as close to being a true zero waste company as I think is possible. Read about zero waste here