Mayodan, North Carolina. In 1976, Charlie Sutherland, Jr. And his brother-in-law, Ron Joyce, after their parent company ordered them to "find" a soap to clean up the knitting oil that Charlie, Jr. Was making for them, started making the soap themselves on the sly in an old barn on Ron's dad's farm and selling it to the parent company.
In 1981, the parent company sold Charlie's dad's division to a German Company and move Charlie, Jr. To the new location. Charlie's dad remained with Corporate as a consultant.
In 1983, over his wife's strong objections, Charlie left this good job and bought Ron's shares of the little soap company. Ron left greener pastures and Charlie, now $60,000 in debt, made soap.
The very day Charlie took over the soap company, the old parent company started shipping thousands of their old textile machines to China, and they insisted that these old machines had to be sparkling clean before shipping. Soap sales soared, and Charlie paid off everybody and was sitting pretty - for a while.
In 1992, after the Chinese had brought all the machines, the parent company was sold as well, and 75% of Charlie's soap business was gone over night.
Over the years, through word-of-mouth and little bit of scratching, Charlie's Soap found its way around the globe and continues to amaze those who will try it. Charlie's dad used to say, "It cleans everything from false teeth to diesel engines. " We put that on the labels. Sadly Charlie's dad passed on in 1994. He is missed.
Charlie's Soap - All Purpose (the original formula) gets under grease and grime, gently releasing it without harsh abrasives.
Charlie's Soap - Laundry Powder (the latest formula) is a highly efficient detergent, requiring only 15 g per washload.
Charlie's Soap - Laundry Liquid is the only detergent proven to restore factory waterproofing to garments.
All products are proven effective and biodegradable. More information available at our website.
