Harrisonburg Daily News Record
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HARRISONBURG — Brenda Ritchie’s homemade soaps are all-natural.
They’re also BioPreferred, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
and are part of the growing bio-based product industry.
The Total Bliss Gourmet Soap products Ritchie makes in her New Market home
studio are among those registered with the USDA’s BioPreferred Program.
The initiative was born in the 2002 Farm Bill with a goal of increasing
the development, purchase and use of bio-based products to boost economic
development, create jobs and spread farm commodities into new markets.
The department defined bio-based products as those “derived from plants and
other renewable agricultural, marine, and forestry materials.” The idea was
to encourage the creation of items to compete with petroleum-based products,
such a lubricants, fertilizers and detergents.
More and more companies are making and selling bio-based products and creating
jobs in the process, according to a USDA report released Monday.
The study, produced by professors at North Carolina State and Duke universities, found that bio-based products contributed $393 billion to America’s economy in 2014 and were responsible for more than 4.22 million jobs. The sector grew by $24 million and 220,000 jobs in 2013. They’re also the types of businesses Rockingham County is recruiting, with a particular emphasis on agriculture. Economic Development Director George Anas said the county should be ideal for such businesses because Rockingham and Augusta are the top two farming counties in Virginia, with more than $1 billion in annual agriculture receipts. “We want to develop agriculture in some meaningful way that can generate wealth for those interested in it,” he said. “We’re taking agriculture and bringing it into the 21st century.” The goal, Anas said, extends beyond providing new markets for farmers. It’s creating a draw to encourage young people to stay or return here after college to continue their family traditions with new technologies, such as robotics, drones or global-positioning systems. “It’s happening in the farming community today,” he said. “We’re tracking companies overseas, and some of the products they have would fit nicely here in the Valley.” Business Growing Total Bliss is among the bio-product businesses with growing sales. Ritchie said she makes 500 bars a week at her in-home studio to fill her orders, and revenues have been growing by at least 25 percent a year for some time. She serves about 100 commercial accounts nationwide — including gourmet soap markets, gift shops, gift-basket suppliers and natural product stores — fulfills small online orders and sells at events such as this weekend’s Page County Heritage Festival. “Business is very, very good,” said Ritchie, who isn’t aware of any sales directly attributed to the BioPreferred Program. “I never advertise. I have all I can do, really.” Taylor Made Organics, a skin-care products company based in Port Republic, and Mount Crawford’s Eastern BioPlastics are the only other local businesses on the BioPreferred rolls. Eastern BioPlastics took its participation a bit further, though, paying to have its bioplastic and absorbent products made with chicken feathers tested and their bio-based content certified. The federal government does more than just highlight bio-based products made in the USA. It operates the certification and labeling program to help companies market their goods and has mandatory purchasing requirements for bio-based products for federal agencies and contractors. Total Bliss was one of the initial businesses enrolled in the no-cost listing program. Ritchie said the USDA contacted her as the program was launching, placed her on a committee, and had her provide feedback related to the program. She’s still involved in some conference calls during which department officials discuss the program. “I want all-natural products that are sustainable and don’t affect the Earth,” she said, “no chemicals at all.” |
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Brenda Ritchie, owner of Total Bliss Gourmet Soap in New Market, inspects a box of her soaps
Thursday as she prepares for the Page County Heritage Festival. |
| Total Bliss was one of the initial businesses enrolled in the no-cost listing program. Ritchie said the USDA contacted her as
the program was launching, placed her on a committee, and had her provide feedback related to the program. She’s still involved in
some conference calls during which department officials discuss the program.
“I want all-natural products that are sustainable and don’t affect the Earth,” she said, “no chemicals at all.” |