Natural sponges have a long history, both in evolutionary terms and in relation to human activities. The creatures that provide old-fashioned natural bath sponges begin life in the oceans. As a family of animal species, these sea sponges have been around for hundreds of millions of years, more or less unchanged. Humans have only been around in a form we’d recognise for a scant half a million years.

For hundreds of those years – maybe even thousands – they’ve been harvesting and using sea sponges. The foam piece we’re familiar with is actually a sort of skeleton, or as close to it as the soft-bodied sea sponge comes. Instead of having a hard, calcareous skeleton like people do, the flexible, squishy sea sponge animals have a fibrous framework, which can be dried and used as natural sponges.

These days, the use of natural sponge is restricted to the bathroom and sometimes the kitchen. However, in the days before man-made foams, sea sponges provided many of the functions now filled by artificial products. They were used to pad helmets for the military, filter water for towns and cities, and in painting, decorating, and pottery.

As bath sponges, they are particularly good, because the soft but hard material is great for washing and provides an exfoliating action too. There is a tactile sensation to the natural sponge that artificial methods are yet to fully replicate. That’s why we provide a range of different natural sponges, as well as many different plastic foams and foam-related products.

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