Lush is going solid with new Naked shower gels and I feel cynical

Sometimes, I get the feeling that either a company is going down a path that just makes no sense or that I am just getting old, and perhaps I am just not down with the kids any more.

Lush has been giving me that vibe in the last few days.

Having used Lush for almost twenty years as there was a shop in Birmingham city centre when I was a teen, I have seen things come and go such as Bnever and their beautiful cosmetic containers, bubble bars bought by weight, ladyboy perfume (I must not cry that it may never come to the kitchen), and also seen a fair few of the products I used in my late teens/ early twenties discontinued.

But, despite seeing all those things, I have not quite seen any products quite like those being introduced in the lush kitchen this week, and assuming coming to a shop near you soon.

In an attempt to remove the packaging from their products they are making a few more products solid.

They have already made their shower smoothies solid in the uk to the most part and I have avoided those, but I get the principle, but now they have decided to turn this idea onto their shower gel.

To be fair I can’t tell you about my reaction to this, as well as the price increases which occurred on the first of September. 

I do not swear on my blog. 

Well, I don’t think I ever have, but my reaction was not great when I heard about the solid shower gels.

In a country where the general default weather is rain, rain and perhaps some more rain, the general idea of having a product that was once in a plastic bottle in a format that is now able to dissolve in the rain is probably not the best idea. 

Especially when you transport your lush products home in a paper bag.

Granted they are claiming they are not going to melt, unlike the solid body conditioners, but that is not a huge issue in the UK, but in my mind they will still be ‘interesting’ after a rain storm.

They are also harking back to the little bubble bath balls that you used to buy as a child in the 80s or 90s in the Body Shop, if you were a 1970/80s baby.I think you can still buy them in some places but not seen them for a while. (But I digress here)

I am waiting to be convinced otherwise, but to me this is definitely not a forward move, solid shower gels, and to me there are advantages but they aren't necessarily pluses to the end user and these are:

It will save them money for the plastic bottles. 

They can charge a premium, £9.75, for a product that will potentially get wet on someone’s journey on the way back from a store, becoming nothing but a soggy mess. 

They will be a nuisance to store as the potential of cross contamination with other scents is higher than when they are in plastic bottles, where the chance is nigh on normal.

They cannot be stored in a bathroom either as the water in the atmosphere may also cause damage to them too.

Also, isn't this just fancy soap and the solid body conditioners are just fancy gourmet soap? 

I have also read that a major ingredient used to make them solid will be seaweed.

And if so, won't they also use shed loads of seaweed from our coast line which is free to them, if they are using the seaweed from wild rather than farmed sources, but is an important part of the ecology at the seaside.

In the natural world is has a purpose of filtering the seawater so that the levels of certain nutrients such as  ammonia, ammonium nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, iron and copper do not reach damaging levels for the local wildlife. 

They may only take the tips, according to the website, but as their needs increase they will be taking more to keep up with demand.

Definitely food for thought alongside the whole Britain is a very wet country issue. 

But they could be amazing so I will have to wait and see but these are my current musings.

-x-J-x-

the cynic