Announced more than a year ago, the Bot lasted longer than expected to reach a market, and some customers complain about unfulfilled pre -orders or wonder if the product is a steam stock. The reason for the delay, says Goswell, was due to Lush’s lack of electronics experience. The product was ready, but they did not notice how long it took to get the relevant certificates needed to sell such a device. The Bath Bot is now available in the UK, the EU, and will soon be in the United States (except for California, which has extra regulations).
Some settlements still had to be made during the development. “The components there are not what we would rate as 100 percent ethical, but we tried our best,” says Goswell. The team wanted to use recycled materials due to environmental concerns but had to choose a virgin plastic to keep the device waterproof. The end result is Recyclable though, and Lush says buyers will be able to bring their in store for repairs if needed.
Manufacturing electronics inevitably comes with carbon cost, but Goswell believes the Bath Bot is justifiable. “If it were a single -use device or cheap, disposable, which broke within six months, I think that would be a different question, but we did it to last,” he says.
Indeed, it is not a cheap device. The price of £ 150 raised the eyebrows even among eager Lush fans on forums as the 115K member. r/lushcosmetics subredit. As one “Lushie” said, “Why would I buy a $ 200 bathroom?” You can get a waterproof Bluetooth loudspeaker of established brands for significantly less, probably with better sound quality: the floating of Ultimate Ears. Wonderful Tree 4 pursuits for about $ 100 (and often sells for less), while JBLThe cheapest water resistance loudspeakers can sell for even $ 40 – you can find some even cheaper at Amazon.
The reasons for the high price, Goswell says, include the fact that it is Lush’s first technology product and the company does not do so much that both increase costs. Try to choose more ethical components add to the price, as well as manufacturing in the UK. Finally, he says, Lush does not want to introduce the Bath Bot against other Bluetooth loudspeakers but see it more as a lifestyle accessory, similar to something like Philips Hue lamp. Although it is designed for use in the bath, he also likes to bring it to hotel rooms for surrounding lighting.
I decide to test the Bath Bot in its intended environment, running a bath and installing the Lush apple ready to connect. Bath drawn, I drop the bath into the water where it regularly floats around, cycling through colored lights that give the illusion dye the bath water around me. Available in black or white, the Bath Bot has only four buttons – turn on/off, play/pause and two volume controls. When I turn it on, it emits a particularly pleasing exon with a bird song and a few gentle guitar notes.
