Bower Collective Review
Bower Collective kindly sent me a package for review so I made my very first unpacking video and reviewed the products. You can watch that here.
Taking inspiration from the Bowerbird (known for recycling brightly coloured plastic scraps to decorate its nest) Bower Collective are a B-Corp who aim to reduce waste whilst providing household and personal care products which are good for both people and planet.
Bower Collective say they are committed to a transparent and ethical supply chain whilst all of their products are cruelty-free. They commit to using ingredients which are non toxic for both people and nature.
Their refillable, reusable and returnable packaging is a big plus in eliminating waste, although not without its flaws, as described in the video. However, with that being said they are still ahead of the game when compared to the majority of mainstream brands in the same field.
I reviewed the Beach Coconut shampoo, Beach Coconut body wash and Lime & Aloe Vera hand wash. All of the products were very effective, which is obviously what you want, and the Beach Coconut smelt positively divine!
All of the products reviewed are:
- Made in the UK
- Vegan
- Cruelty free
- Free from nasties
- 99% naturally derived ingredients
- Easy to reuse and refill
…However that does lead me to wonder what that 1% non-naturally derived ingredient is in all of the products. Ingredients of each product are listed on the Bower Collective website so for anyone more knowledgeable in this area than me I’m sure they can decipher which is not and why it’s deemed necessary. Do comment below if you know.
Their glass, hand-pump, refillable bottles are very stylish. They sent me one of these and two of their PET plastic dispensers. I would prefer it if the glass ones were offered for cheaper than the plastic ones to encourage their use over the plastic ones. With the plastic ones being cheaper they are more likely to be selected by customers. The plastic ones will last a long time and are recyclable at the end of their life though, so that’s good.
Another way in which Bower Collective look to make a positive contribution is that with every order made they work with their partners CleanHub to prevent ocean-bound plastic waste. They have committed to stop 10,000 kilos of non-recyclable plastic from entering our oceans this year.
They also work with Climate Partner to measure, reduce and offset the carbon they produce, including that of their deliveries.
Sadly they use Amazon as their courier when they send items. At the time of writing Amazon are in to their twelfth year of a boycott call by Ethical Consumer Magazine, the leaders in research and analysis of the ethics and sustainability of corporate powers and brands. I personally would not continue to use Bower Collective’s delivery service until they join the boycott and stop their partnership with Amazon. I hope this is something that is addressed soon and that I can update this review in confirmation.
All in all Bower Collective have done a fantastic job in creating a stylish, eco-friendly, forward thinking and effective product range. No brand is perfect and all can continue to improve. I’ve identified a few of those areas in my review and despite them I am glad to recognise Bower Collective as a leader in sustainable household and personal care products for a large part of their operation.
If you’d like to give Bower Collective a go yourself you can make use of my 15% discount code for your first order. Do let me know how you get on!
Cheers,
Sam