THE BATHROOM REVOLUTION

REUSABLE Q-TIPS ARE HERE TO STAY.
BY SARA DARLING

Hooray! It’s official. The government has finally passed a ban on single-use plastic straws, cotton buds and stirrers, which came into place on Thursday 1 October. It was supposed to happen earlier, but there were Covid-19 related delays. 

Prior to that over 1.8 billion plastic-stemmed cotton buds were sold every year in England, and that’s a lot of plastic to go to landfill for no good reason. 

Innovative, out of the box thinkers, LastObject have stepped up to the mark, with sustainability at their core- bringing a new concept to conscientious shoppers. With two ear buds on offer - the Beauty and Basic Swab with different shaped silicone ends for ears and makeup. 

Each LastSwab bud is reusable up to 200 times, and gives you total precision in applying and removing makeup and gently cleaning ears. With the bonus over just binning the illegal cotton tips on paper stick variety, the LastSwabs can just been washed and reused as they are completely made of plastic and silicone (which can ultimately be recycled in your roadside recycling bin). 

The basic (everyday) Swab for your ears is a much nicer experience than a bud consisting of cheap fluffy cotton wool. With a textured surface it can really get to all the corners of your ears and lure any unwanted gumph. Whereas the Beauty Swab provides a solid glide for any crayon type products, and is great for tidying up lips and creases. 

Founder, Isabel Aagaard isn’t just set on revolutionising the cotton bud industry, she has discovered a way of re-birthing the bathroom staple- cotton wool, which is the largest use of water among all agricultural commodities- taking 2,640 gallons of clean drinking water to produce 1,000 regular cotton rounds. 

The LastRound is another product which is made of 100% renewable raw materials – 70% wood fibre and 30% organic cotton, making it more sustainable than its 100% cotton counterparts. Formed like a standard cotton wool pad, it looks and feels like a normal single-use round that is used with wild abandon for removing makeup and applying potions but, one Round can be washed and rinsed after each use, and be used over and over again. With seven Rounds in the pretty packaging, these should easily last any moderate makeup wearer seven months or more. 

Slowly but surely, LastObject is going global, and will be the first name on everyone’s lips as we realise that our daily habits are harming the earth and damaging the wildlife in our oceans. 

Buy yours here ​