About Friendly Goods Company
Our Founders
![chestertown2021-0350 Founders of Friendly Goods Sam and DeLia Shoge](https://friendlygoodsco.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/chestertown2021-0350.webp)
We launched this business where so many celebrated innovators get their start: a basement.
It definitely wasn’t fancy, but there was magic in heading down to what became our little lab to experiment with different combinations of herbs, essential oils, and ingredients purchased from the local natural food stores.
We had a vision—to create a fresh, natural, and simple soap we could share with family and friends. Many, many batches (and lots of suds later), we felt like we nailed it. Those first blocks of gentle-on-the-skin handmade soaps would become the inspiration for Friendly Goods Company.
We started Friendly Goods wanting to honor our commitment to making artisanal soaps and other body care products with ingredients anybody could pronounce. We also wanted to create a business rooted in our community on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, one that gave back to the people and economy of our small town—and the beautiful Chesapeake landscape around us. Every goat milk soap, lotion you purchase supports our dream and gives back to our charming town.
We’re proud to say that Friendly Goods Company is able to support that core mission with every bar or moisturizing balm we sell. It’s a joy to build a small business on such a positive foundation, knowing that every product we create is something we can stand behind, as small-business owners, community cheerleaders, parents, and residents of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Thanks for supporting us!
— Sam and DeLia (and Audre)
![FG_Farmers Market Farmers Market Local Artisans](https://friendlygoodsco.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/FG_Farmers-Market.jpg)
Our Community
Friendly Goods Company is proud to call Chestertown, Maryland home, where we took our first baby steps by asking friends for fresh, local ingredients to make wholesome skin and body care products. Chestertown’s unmatched sense of community comes in many forms, and our small business is proof. When we first began our venture, it felt like the entire town showed up for us and asked, “How can we help?”
This generosity enabled us to connect with the permaculture enthusiasts, herbalists, farmers, and marketing geniuses who call Chestertown and Maryland’s Eastern Shore home. And these are the people who helped conceptualize and bring our community-driven vision for Friendly Goods Company to life.
Our Impact
As an environmentally driven brand, Friendly Goods Company is dedicated to reducing the impact of consumer-packaged goods on the world we share. From plastic-free shipping to recyclable packaging, we are serious about being Friendly to Our Planet.
A portion of each sale is donated to a local environmental nonprofit that protects and restores waterways in our home region. We are proud to sponsor the regular water quality testing of our rivers.
![our-impact](https://friendlygoodsco.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/our-impact.webp)