Soap felting workshops offered by New Brunswick co-op

The Green Eye Co-Op in Petitcodiac, N.B., is teaching people how to make felted soap.

"You wrap bits of roving or washed wool around a bar of soap. As you use the soap the wool shrinks around it ... it froths the soap and gives you a good lather and exfoliates," said Laura Degrace, who teaches the workshops.

The whole idea is to get extra clean, and provide knowledge on what goes into the products people use every day.

During the process, wool is manipulated with heat and soap, which removes some of the lanolin the wax sheep produce in their wool through glands.

"Removing that with soap and heat will open up follicles of the wool and they lock together, binding them, which is what we call felt," said Degrace.

"That's why you don't want to put your wool sweaters in the dryer."

Degrace is also teaching people how to make their own soap with natural ingredients including olive oil, beeswax and spices.

"They come up with a recipe of their own, so we give them the basics and we help them through the process," she said.

"We add a variety of essential oils and stuff comes out of my kitchen, herbs and spices to scent and colour the soap."

Items such as ground cinnamon and chunks of clove are added for scent or even exfoliating purposes.

"Learning about making these things yourself makes your lifestyle more sustainable but really makes you thinks about the ethics of things you're using," said Degrace.