rivacy Policy for The Rivers Soap Company
Effective Date: June 19, 2026
At The Rivers Soap Company, we respect your right to privacy and are fully committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, store, and process your personal data in strict compliance with South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act, No. 4 of 2013 (POPIA).
1. The Information We Collect
To provide you with our artisanal soaps and ensure an efficient online shopping experience via WooCommerce, we collect and process several categories of information: [1]
- Identity and Contact Data: Your full name, delivery address, billing address, telephone number, and email address.
- Order and Transaction Data: Details regarding the specific soap products you purchase, transaction totals, and your order history.
- Device and Usage Data: Information collected automatically when you browse our website, including your IP address, browser type, and cookie identifiers to enhance site performance.
2. Payment Processing and Security
All online financial transactions are processed securely through our chosen local payment gateway, Payfast. [1]
- When paying via Visa, you will be redirected to the secure Payfast environment.
- The Rivers Soap Company does not store or process your full credit card or banking details directly on our WooCommerce servers.
- Your payment data is guarded by Payfast’s advanced encryption and security protocols.
3. Purpose Specification: How We Use Your Data
In line with POPIA’s conditions for lawful processing, we only use your personal information for specific, explicit, and legitimate business purposes, which include:
- Fulfilling, packaging, and delivering your online purchases.
- Generating tax invoices and confirming your order details.
- Communicating vital order tracking updates or answering service queries.
- Mitigating fraud or transactional security risks.
- Sending you marketing communications regarding our latest natural soap collections, provided you have given us explicit, voluntary consent.
4. Sharing Data with Operators and Third Parties
We do not sell your personal data. We only share essential subsets of your information with trusted “Operators” (third-party service providers) necessary to run our e-commerce platform:
- WooCommerce Plugin Providers: System mechanisms required to maintain core website functions.
- Payfast: To securely process your Visa or alternative payment selections.
- Couriers and Logistics Providers: To ensure your physical package reaches your designated address in South Africa.
5. Security Safeguards
We take data security seriously. We employ comprehensive technical and organizational safeguards on our WooCommerce site to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, loss, destruction, alteration, or accidental disclosure.
6. Your Rights Under POPIA
As a data subject in South Africa, you possess clear rights regarding your personal information. You have the right to:
- Request access to confirm what personal information we hold about you.
- Object to the processing of your data or withdraw previously given consent at any time.
- Request that inaccurate, outdated, or incomplete information be updated or corrected.
- Request that your records be permanently deleted from our databases. [1, 2]
7. Contacting Our Information Officer
If you would like to exercise any of your legal privacy rights, require clarification on our data processing, or wish to log a query, please reach out to us directly:
The Rivers Soap Company
Information Officer: Amanda Erasmus
Email Address: admin@theriverssoap.co.za
Physical Address: Three Rivers, Vereeniging