Store Policies

GENTLY INC.

DBA GENTLY SOAP

STORE POLICIES

EFFECTIVE DATE: SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

The following Store Policies (the “Store Policies”) constitute a binding agreement between you and Gently Inc., a Delaware corporation dba Gently Soap (“Gently”, “we”, “our”, and “us”). By placing an order from Gently, you acknowledge that you accept the practices and policies outlined in the Store Policies, and you hereby consent to the Store Policies. Any capitalized terms that are not defined in this Store Policy are defined in our Terms of Use.

Return Policy

Gently does not accept returns of any kind. We encourage you to gift any unused products which are you not satisfied with to your friends or family.

Order Cancellation Policy

If you must cancel an order, you must do so within 24 hours of placing the order. In such case, we will refund you the entire amount. Once your order has been shipped, cancellations cannot be made.

If we cancel your order due to non-availability of the product or any such unforeseen circumstances, the full amount will be refunded to you. 

Gently processes the refund within 15 business days from the order cancellation. It may take up to 7-10 business days for you to see the transfer in your account depending on your bank. 

All refunds will be made in United States Dollars.

Refund and Exchange Policy

Any clearance items and shipping costs are non-refundable.

You have 5 calendar days from the day your order was delivered to request a refund or exchange for any damaged products. To request a refund or exchange, please email info@gentlysoap.com with your order confirmation number, a photo of the damaged product, and reason for the refund request. Gently may deny the refund request if the correspondence between you and Gently does not reasonably indicate that the product is damaged.

In the event of a refund request, Gently may give you the option to either keep or discard the item.

Gently processes the refund within 15 business days from the accepted return request. It may take up to 7-10 business days for you to see the transfer in your account depending on your bank. 

All refunds will be made in United States Dollars.

Shipping Policy

We ship orders M-F. We typically tell our customers to expect their order to ship within 3-7 business days of it being placed during high volume periods.

We do our best to ship products as quickly as possible, however, as a small business with limited inventory and high demand, it is likely that your order may be delayed significantly during our pre-order periods. We will do our best to communicate delays with you. 

Please be sure that your shipping address provided is available to receive your packages to avoid redelivery fees. Once your order is shipped, barring unforeseen circumstances, it will arrive in 3-7 business days with standard UPS ground shipping. 

You will receive an order confirmation email (if your email was provided at check out) once your order has been shipped.

Responsible Supplier Standards

At Gently PBC, the way our products are made matters just as much as the products themselves. We aim to build supplier relationships that support safe products, ethical working conditions, environmental responsibility, equitable economic opportunity, and long-term collaboration.

These standards apply to manufacturers, ingredient and packaging vendors, service providers, contractors, and other suppliers conducting business with Gently.

Our Supplier Expectations

Ethical and Lawful Business Practices

We expect suppliers to:

  • Comply with applicable labor, employment, environmental, product-safety, anti-corruption, and human-rights laws.
  • Conduct business honestly and maintain accurate records.
  • Avoid bribery, fraud, undisclosed conflicts of interest, and other unethical business practices.
  • Disclose material legal, regulatory, safety, quality, or operational concerns that could affect Gently or its customers.

Human Rights and Working Conditions

Suppliers are expected to:

  • Treat workers and business partners with dignity and respect.
  • Prohibit forced labor, trafficked labor, child labor, harassment, abuse, and unlawful discrimination.
  • Provide working conditions that comply with applicable health and safety requirements.
  • Comply with applicable wage, working-hour, leave, and employment laws.
  • Maintain appropriate procedures for workers to raise concerns without retaliation.

Environmental Responsibility

We expect suppliers to:

  • Comply with applicable environmental laws and regulations.
  • Manage waste, water, energy, emissions, and other environmental impacts responsibly.
  • Work to reduce unnecessary waste throughout production, packaging, storage, and transportation.
  • Support responsible material and packaging choices when they can reasonably meet Gently’s safety, quality, performance, and business requirements.
  • Provide accurate information supporting environmental, sourcing, ingredient, and product claims.
  • Identify opportunities to improve resource efficiency and reduce environmental impact over time.

Product Safety, Quality, and Traceability

Suppliers must be able to meet the safety, quality, performance, and documentation requirements applicable to the products or services they provide.

Depending on the supplier and purchasing category, Gently may request:

  • Product specifications and ingredient information
  • Samples or testing documentation
  • Certificates of analysis or compliance records
  • Packaging and labeling specifications
  • Manufacturing and quality-control information
  • Information about material subcontractors or upstream sources
  • Corrective-action plans when a significant concern is identified

Suppliers are expected to notify Gently promptly of material quality problems, safety concerns, regulatory issues, recalls, or changes that could affect an approved product or service.

Supporting Diverse-Owned Suppliers

Gently has established a goal of directing at least 30% of annual supplier purchasing spend to diverse-owned businesses.

For purposes of this goal, a diverse-owned supplier is a business that is at least 51% owned, operated, and controlled by one or more individuals from historically underrepresented or economically disadvantaged groups, including businesses owned by:

  • Women
  • Black, Indigenous, or other people of color
  • LGBTQ+ individuals
  • People with disabilities
  • Veterans
  • Members of other historically marginalized communities

When qualified suppliers offer reasonably comparable safety, quality, capacity, timing, service, and overall value, Gently gives additional consideration to diverse-owned suppliers.

Gently may use supplier self-identification, publicly available information, or third-party certification to document diverse ownership. Formal certification is welcomed but is not always required.

We also consider the broader impact of working with locally owned small businesses, Certified B Corporations, social enterprises, and other mission-aligned suppliers. These designations contribute to our responsible purchasing decisions but only count toward our 30% diverse-supplier-spend goal when the supplier also meets our diverse-ownership definition.

How We Evaluate Suppliers

Supplier reviews are proportionate to the goods or services being provided. Our evaluation may include:

  • Legal and regulatory compliance
  • Product safety and quality
  • Capacity, availability, and delivery reliability
  • Pricing, payment terms, and overall value
  • Working conditions and ethical business practices
  • Environmental practices
  • Ownership and supplier-diversity information
  • Traceability and documentation
  • Conflicts of interest
  • Material legal, safety, quality, or reputational concerns

Diverse ownership does not override Gently’s essential legal, safety, quality, capacity, timing, service, or financial requirements.

Building Responsible Supplier Relationships

We seek supplier relationships built on clear expectations, reliable communication, fair dealing, and mutual respect. When practical, we provide suppliers with advance information about anticipated production quantities, schedules, specifications, and purchasing needs so they can plan appropriately.

We also aim to communicate concerns clearly and give suppliers a reasonable opportunity to explain or correct identified gaps when doing so would not compromise product safety, legal compliance, worker wellbeing, or business continuity.

Accountability and Continuous Improvement

Gently reviews its supplier relationships and purchasing information at least annually. This review helps us:

  • Evaluate progress toward our 30% diverse-supplier-spend goal
  • Identify opportunities to work with additional diverse-owned suppliers
  • Monitor significant safety, quality, ethical, and environmental concerns
  • Document barriers to responsible sourcing
  • Establish improvement priorities for the following year

If a supplier does not meet an applicable standard, Gently may request additional information, establish a corrective-action plan, place conditions on continued approval, suspend purchasing, or end the relationship, depending on the nature and severity of the concern.

Questions About Our Supplier Standards

Questions about Gently’s supplier standards or responsible purchasing practices may be submitted through our website’s contact page.