The lush badbot is a vegan, recyclable floating speaker who is out to make a point

De Bot announced more than a year ago and took longer than expected to be on the market, whereby some customers complain about unfulfilled pre-orders or wondering if the product is vaporware. The reason for the delay, says Goswell, was due to Lush’s lack of experience with electronics. The product was ready, but they had not realized how long it would take to get the relevant certifications that are needed to sell such a device. The Bath Bot is now available in the UK, EU and will soon be in the US (except California, which has extra regulations).

Some compromises still had to be closed during development. “The components there are not what we would consider 100 percent ethically, but we did our best,” says Goswell. The team wanted to use recycled materials from worries about the environment, but had to opt for virgin plastic to keep the device waterproof. The end result is Recyclable, however, and Lush says that buyers will be able to bring them to the store for repairs if necessary.

The production electronics inevitably has carbon costs, but Goswell believes that the Bath Bot’s is justified. “If it was a device for one -time use or a cheap disposable that broke within six months, I think that would be a different question, but we have experienced it,” he says.

Indeed, a cheap device that it is not. The price tag of £ 150 has lifted eyebrows, even under fiery lush fans on forums such as the 115K member R/Lushcosmetics Subreddit. As a “lushie” said: “Why should I buy a $ 200 speaker from a bath shop?” You can get a waterproof Bluetooth speaker from established brands for considerably less, probably with better sound quality: Ultimate Ears’ Floating Wonderboom 4 sells for about $ 100 (and often sells for less), while JBLBeing able to sell the cheapest waterproof speakers for just $ 40 – you can even find something cheaper on Amazon.

The reasons for the high price, says Goswell, include the fact that it is Lush’s first technical product and the company does not make much, both of which increase costs. Trying to choose more ethical components contributes to the price, just like production in the UK. In the end, he says, Lush de Bath Bot does not want to pitch other Bluetooth speakers, but sees it as a lifestyle accessory, related to something like one Philips Hue lamp. Although it is designed for use in the bath, he also likes to take it to hotel rooms for environmental lighting.

I decide to test the bath bone in the intended environment, run a bath and set up the lush app that is ready to connect. Merkeed bath, I let the bath bone fall into the water where it floats around, cycling through colored lights that give the illusion to paint the bath water around me. The Bath Bot is available in black or white and has only four buttons – on/off, play/pause and two volume controls. When I turn it on, it radiates a particularly pleasant start -up noise with bird song and a few soft guitar nuts.