She sells seaweed from the seashore

Lush products are made up of ingredients from around the globe, and sometimes they're just a stone’s throw from our manufacturing sites. When it comes to our fresh face mask range, keeping it local matters...

We source the kelp seaweed for our refreshing BB Seaweed fresh face mask from a small family-run seaweed harvesting business, in Tilba Tilba on the South Coast of Australia. Jo, top seawitch and marine scientist is the matriarch of the business.

The seaweed that Jo collects by hand from the beach comes from the clear waters of Mystery Bay and Glass House Rocks.

Seaweed has the amazing ability to absorb anything that is around it and for this reason it is important for our supplier to collect from clean waters. It’s hard to imagine a better office than the coastline of Australia, but a clear and sunny day is not always the best condition for seaweed harvesting.

Jo only collects what has washed ashore overnight and would never cut from the ocean as seaweed provides an important canopy for marine life. The perfect harvest often comes after an angry storm, which dislodges seaweed and sends it to the shoreline.

On the day we visit it is spitting with rain on a chilly and grey morning, but the ocean is beautiful in all of its forms. There was little to no seaweed on the beach and we only managed to collect two to three bunches that had just washed up, just enough for a bridal party. It gives us a genuine insight into the day to day challenges of seaweed harvesting. You can’t control nature!

The last year has been challenging and fires had a significant impact on Jo's ability to harvest. It was just too smoky. Jo is keen for a storm, as they are running quite low on seaweed stocks. The kelp is washed in mountain water and dried on the specially built drying racks in her backyard, before it ends up in various forms, from milled seaweed powder to furikake used in rice to add flavour.

“To achieve any kind of significant environmental impact, we need to see kelp farming growing on a big scale in Australia – much bigger than anything just myself and my husband can achieve alone.”

Aside from being passionate about developing a seaweed industry in Australia, Jo is also passionate about advocating for the benefits kelp farming can have on climate change. Kelp farming can absorb carbon dioxide, which is vital for mitigating climate change and addressing ocean acidification. Jo also has a small workshop in which she is trialling the potential to grow kelp.