Why I Joined the Handcrafted Soap & Cosmetic Guild (And What It Means for You)

HSCG Member Badge

If you’ve been following along with Gorecki’s Home Goods for a while, you know that everything I do comes back to one thing: doing right by you. Clean ingredients. Honest sourcing. Products you can actually trust.

So when I decided to join the Handcrafted Soap & Cosmetic Guild (HSCG), it wasn’t a decision I made lightly. It was the next natural step in that same commitment. 

What Is the HSCG?

The Handcrafted Soap & Cosmetic Guild is the only international not-for-profit trade association for makers of handcrafted soap, cosmetics, and candles. They exist to promote the craft, support makers like me, and advocate for consumers who deserve better than what’s sitting on most store shelves.

Membership means being part of a community that holds itself to a higher standard — in safety, in quality, and in transparency.

Why It Matters to Me

I started Gorecki’s Home Goods because I found a harsh industrial cleaner listed as an ingredient in my breakfast cereal. That moment made me look a lot more closely at everything I was putting on my skin, too. What I found wasn’t great.

Joining the HSCG is my way of putting a stake in the ground and saying: this is the kind of maker I am. Not a hobbyist. Not someone cutting corners. A maker who takes the craft seriously and stands behind every bar, balm, and bottle that leaves my hands.

What HSCG Membership Means for You

When you see the HSCG member badge on my packaging, website, or at my table at a craft fair or farmers market, here’s what it tells you:

·         I’m part of a vetted community of professional makers

·         I have access to ongoing education, safety resources, and industry standards

·         I carry guild-backed insurance — which means I can show up at farmers markets and craft fairs with the coverage needed to be there for you

·         I’m committed to the long game — building a real, trustworthy business, not just making a quick sale

Small Batch. Real Ingredients. Guild Proud.

Every product at Gorecki’s Home Goods is still made the same way it always has been — in small batches, by hand, in Wisconsin, with natural farm-sourced ingredients and no synthetic fragrances or dyes. The HSCG membership doesn’t change what I make. It just confirms what I’ve always believed about how it should be made.

I’m proud to be a member, and I’m just getting started.

Want to learn more about the Handcrafted Soap & Cosmetic Guild? Visit www.soapguild.org.