Support an autistic small business!

This week’s post is going to be an interesting slight deviation from standard content! Instead of talking about personal experience specifically, I’m going to give a little plug. Although I think this feels like more of a week-of-Christmas post than anything, I want to post it now, so that the timing would be sufficient should this post inspire anyone to support the business I’m about to talk about. In less complicated words, I’m about to spotlight my favorite autistic-run business! And I’m doing this with Christmas shopping purposes in mind. So without further ado…

Hello! Would you like to support an autistic business? I sound like a salesperson, or maybe like I’m doing a commercial, but I’m not. I just know that this is the season of giving, and I think this blog would be a good place to try to bring attention to one of my favorite small companies.

I believe I first learned about this small business two Christmases ago. My mom gave me a couple of soaps, and included a business card to explain where they had come from. They were handmade and really, really nice, and the card told me that they were sold by an independent business in Michigan, with a teenage, autistic founder. Apparently, my mom had read about the company from some kind of autism newsletter or blog, and the timing had been just right for Christmas shopping.

So, in the same way that my mom first learned about this company via an autism blog or something (her words, since she doesn’t remember exactly how she happened upon it on the Internet), I am now passing it along. This is my formal blog introduction to the Expedition Soap Company, which is a great small business to support at holiday time!

The first Christmas where my mom got me soaps was not the last time I used their products. I’ve used many soaps (and even some lotion!) from Expedition, and I can tell you I am definitely a satisfied customer. If you would like to look at what they sell, here is a helpful link to their website.

Why is this relevant? Well, because, like I said, Expedition Soaps is run by an autistic teenager. I actually think he’s no longer a teenager and is now in college, but he was a teenager when he founded the company, and now it’s a successful small business. That is so cool! The company stands for autism acceptance and advocacy, and Spencer, its founder, has given speeches about autistic topics in a number of places.

There aren’t that many small businesses like Spencer’s, and I decided that I wanted to do a plug for this company sometime around the holidays because a.) everybody is already thinking about shopping right now (thanks, commercialism!), and b.) this is an autism blog, so it’s very on-brand for me to recommend a small business founded by someone autistic which supports autism awareness.

And like I said, the quality is good. In the story of the company’s founding, Spencer explains having to pay for the cost of a bicycle, and deciding that since everybody already uses soap, he wanted to make quality soap products that he himself enjoyed and other people could enjoy as well. They don’t only make soap nowadays, since the company has expanded quite a bit— I mentioned the lotion, and looking through their website, I see a lot of other bath care products, too. All of it is useful and really high-quality. And it smells so good.

That’s actually all I have to say for this time around. When you do your holiday shopping, consider giving Spencer and the Expedition Soap Company your business! I promise— you’ll be satisfied with their products, and it’s in support of a great cause.

Here’s where else you can find me.

Next Time: I tend to go off the map during winter break.