Tell us about what Yaya Marias is all about.
Yaya Maria's makes the most natural dish soap, hand soap, and body wash there is. Made with just 6 whole ingredients that everyone understands, Yaya Maria's soaps are ideal for people who want to live healthier lives.
Why did you choose this path?
After Yaya Maria's founder, Andy, was successfully treated for cancer, he and his wife wanted to keep him away from harsh chemicals to help him live a long and healthy life. So they developed formulas for the most natural soap there is. Today, Yaya Maria's uses those same formulas for making its soaps. Andy says, “When I got sick, we started reading product labels to keep me away from harsh chemicals. We were surprised and disappointed to notice that the big soap brands that market themselves as 'natural' in fact use the same harsh chemicals as regular soap. We decided to make our own soaps that put ingredients first, and that really work. It mattered to us that people should be able to truly know what's in their soap. That's why we only use ingredients that are so natural, even our grandmothers would understand them."
How was Yaya Maria’s started?
It began with a little old lady named Maria who lived far away, in Greece. One day Maria received news that her first grandchild was born. (“Yaya” means “grandma” in Greek). She was so overjoyed that she decided secretly to give the baby a gift. She opened a bank account in his name the same day. Maria didn’t have much money, but every month, year after year, she deposited a few dollars from her small pension into the account for her grandson’s future. She kept the secret carefully, telling no one. By the time she died she had forgotten about it. Many years after Yaya Maria passed, her son was sorting through a box of her belongings. To his surprise, a booklet fell out. It was the ledger for the forgotten account that Maria had opened for her grandson. The son couldn’t believe his eyes! Immediately, he called his son – Yaya Maria’s grandson – to tell him about the gift from above, sent by his late grandmother. The young man was overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness of his grandmother. That grandson is our founder, Andy. Grandma Maria’s gift helped Andy start his soap business. In gratitude, he named the company after her - Yaya Maria's. And just as Grandma Maria put aside money for her young one, we donate parts of our proceeds to help children achieve a better future. This way, Yaya Maria’s legacy continues to help today’s young ones.
What do you wish more people understood about your industry?
Almost all soaps contain toxic chemicals like phthalates, parabens, and petrochemicals. These ingredients are sometimes hidden in ingredient lists under vague, catchall terms like "surfactant," "cleaning agent," "preservative", or “fragrance”. "Fragrance" alone can mean any of 3,000 undisclosed chemicals, many of which are toxic (more information on that here). When you use hand soap that contains toxic ingredients, those ingredients enter your bloodstream through the skin (as shown in this study). Dish soaps enter your body when your food absorbs the dish soap residue that clings to the plate (as shown in this study). Once inside people's bodies, these chemicals harm people's health (as shown in this study). They even get transmitted to babies through the umbilical cord (as scientists discovered here). Most supposedly "natural" soaps contain the same harmful substances as regular soap. By contrast, Yaya Maria’s all-natural soaps are made with genuinely safe ingredients and are 100% nontoxic.
What are you most proud of?
Yaya Maria's is serious about our mission of making soaps that are safe for people and planet, and friendly to animals. Don't take our word for it. Yaya Maria's is
• Best-rated for non-toxicity by EWG here and here.
• Cruelty-free certified with Leaping Bunny.
• Vegan-certified with PETA.
• Naturewatch Foundation endorsed.
• Green America certified for being environmentally and socially-conscious.
• USDA-certified 100% Biobased (independently lab-tested by the University of Georgia),
meaning this soap is made entirely from plants, with zero petrochemicals.
Yaya Maria's soaps are made exclusively with distilled water. Distilled water is the purest water there is. Distillation is the process of boiling water and collecting the steam, which contains no impurities. The steam is then cooled and condenses into pure H2O. Yaya Maria's soaps are made fresh in small batches. Each batch is formulated and made in-house (never outsourced) to maintain quality control. You can feel the quality of Yaya Maria's soaps. Have you ever noticed how hard most soaps are to wash off? Many won't rinse off even after running your hands under the faucet for several minutes. This is because conventional soaps are made from very cheap (and toxic) petrochemicals that cling to dishes and skin. Thanks to Yaya Maria's high-quality natural ingredients, these soaps wash off easily without leaving behind any chemical film (saving you water too). It's quality you can feel.
What does the future hold for Yaya Marias?
We always work on new product ideas. What about a shampoo made from ingredients that are EWG A rated and that everyone understands? Stay tuned ;-)