Teach Soap

So I've been making lotion bars and lip balm for about a year. I just started selling them on an etsy shop about a month ago. I've since changed some things based on my understanding of labeling, etc. Still, after looking up ways to make my lip balm labels look more "professional" I was shocked to see all the information about homecrafters insurance and fear of lawsuits etc. etc. etc! I'm honestly not sure how I missed it!

I'm not looking to make a ton of money. I know that seems weird but I'm really not BUSINESS minded I just want to be able to cover the cost of my supplies and make a few on the side to use as gifts. I've done M&P soap (very little though) and I want to delve into more advanced soap making at some point as well and just kind of be able to cover the cost of the hobby. I thought etsy would be a great way to be able to sell some of my products without worrying about having HUGE orders or spending a ton of time making them (lets be honest, I'm a knitter at heart!)

However, I'm now concerned about the insurance. I definitely don't make enough to pay for the insurance and I make everything "to order" so it would make "batch numbers" and everything seem REALLY intense. Is it just completely unreasonable to sell lotion bars and lip balm for fun? Are there honestly people that do make stuff like this without the insurance? What about people that just do one craft fair a year? It just seems as though I was hoping to do something REALLY small on the side and all the sudden it has become this huge issue.

Honestly, I would never sell without insurance. If someone were to sue you you could lose your house! You should check out RLI insurance, it's meant for folks who sell under $5000 of product a year, and is really not a bad price either. For those craft fair folks there is short term insurance to cover them for the events. Not sure which companies offer that one though.

_________________
~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

I called RLI and it's going to cost $220 for the year. That's not bad and I'm totally borrowing the money from my parents just for the peace of mind. It seems silly since I probably won't sell a whole lot for the year until next fall but it gives me peace of mind.