You might only know Rowena Bird as the co-founder of Lush, but when she’s not cooking up the next innovative product – the rose argon body conditioner is one of her proudest creations – she’s an avid environmentalist.
Bird has long been campaigning to reduce the amount of excessive plastic packaging in the cosmetics industry – and now she’s focusing her efforts on litter picking. By the end of the year, Bird – with the help of others – is aiming to pick up 60 tonnes of rubbish from her local beach in Poole.
Using the hashtag #plasticgrab, she hopes to inspire others to do their bit in tackling plastic pollution. “It’s everyone’s responsibility to affect change,” she said. “If we want to see a decrease in the impacts of plastic pollution, we’ve got to start consuming less of it.”
We couldn’t agree more. And it was no surprise then, that when we asked Bird the five things she couldn’t live without – the green theme continued.
A Litter Pick-Up Stick
Describing it as the “best present ever” from her husband, Bird says she uses a litter stick everyday. In fact, she was so impressed with the present, she bought him one for his birthday – and now they both use it as part of their daily routine.
“I live on a beach and walk up and down every morning with my husband and pick up the litter from the day before,” she tells me. ”[He bought it] because he was fed up walking on the beach with me and having to stop every time I bent down to pick up something.”
Travel Cutlery (For On-The-Go Eating)
Eradicating plastic from your lifestyle is no easy feat, Bird tells me. “It’s all about creating good habits,” she says. “Don’t make so many big changes at at a time, start small and build on it.”
One of the ways she does this is with her bamboo cutlery set, which was a gift from someone she works with. It goes everywhere with her – even abroad – so she never has to use single-use plastic spoons, forks or knives. Sounds like a pretty good idea to us.
Signature Pink Lipstick
Remember when Lush launched 40 refillable, totally vegan lipsticks – making the beauty product plastic-free? You can thank Bird for that. She was the creative behind them all – and is a longtime wearer of Manta, a hot pink shade.
“I wear it everyday,” she says. “It might not be the bestseller, but it’ll never be discontinued because I love it so much!”
A Reusable Coffee Cup
Bird is a keen reusable coffee cup owner – so much so, that she even carries around spares for her friends when meeting them for a cuppa.
In her collection, she has fold-up ones and flasks. “Every morning I stop and get coffee from a little independent shop,” she says. “I usually carry two in case I’m with a friend, because I won’t let them take a non-reusable one either!”
Rosé Conditioner
Bird’s signature pink hair is thanks to Bleach London – and she’s a big fan of their rosé conditioner to keep it in great shape. Even better, it’s vegan and cruelty-free.
“I put the conditioner on and leave it for five minutes when I’m in the shower or bath and then rinse it out – I love it,” she says.
When the colder months come round, Rowena switches to the blulini conditioner, a pastel blue, but she confesses: “The rosé is my favourite.”
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