Black-Owned Soapmaking Business in Massachusetts Wins State-Wide Sustainability Award

A Black woman-owned, locally sourced soapmaking company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been recognized by the state for its commitment to sustainability.

A Black-woman-owned soapmaking business has been recognized as one of Massachusetts’s most environmentally conscious small businesses.

Artifact Soapworks, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, recently received a 2024 Sustainable Business Award, The Harvard Crimson reports earlier this month. The soapmaker, Barbara A. Thomas, was one of seven small business owners around Massachusetts to receive the Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts award.

Thomas, who makes and sells soaps from organic, biodegradable ingredients, is “shocked” and “proud” to have won a 2024 Sustainable Business Award.

“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,” Thomas said.

“Because the types of people that win this award are farms or Indigenous shellfishers or people with brick-and-mortar.”

The holistic soap company thrives through community support. Drawing from her studies in integrated chemical engineering at MIT in the early ’90s, Thomas sources her soapmaking ingredients from local farms and businesses. She purchases olive oil and shea butter from Catania Oils, a family-run business in Ayer, Massachusetts, and maintains a sustainable operation using manual tools to minimize her carbon footprint.

Thomas began her soapmaking journey at MIT, where a professor offered extra credit for students who completed batch processing projects outside of class—one of which was soapmaking.

“I decided to make soap, and I started giving it to my family and friends during Christmastime,” Thomas said. “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 seeing her family share their handmade soap with other family and friends, Thomas soon turned Artifact Soapworks into an LLC. She models her artistic soaps to be shaped like iconic figures and statues like the Venus of Willendorf, gargoyles, and Buddha.

“Anyone can make square soap, but I like to make soaps that look like artifacts,” Thomas said.

Beyond soapmaking, Thomas educates others on creating their own soaps to raise awareness about the environmental impact of commercial soap use. Artifact Soapworks was recently showcased at the Black History Month Marketplace Pop-Up in Harvard Square, which Thomas used as an opportunity to deepen community connections and highlight the challenges of being a Black business owner in a pricey area 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 said.

“Me, by choice, decided to be a home business, but some people aren’t doing pop-ups by choice,” Thomas added. “They want a store, and they’re looking for something that they can afford near their home here in Cambridge.”