Einstein said “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” For Josh Howard, Founder of Single Use Ain’t Sexy, movement boosts his creativity. Especially when he’s on his Amsterdam+ electric bike.
Josh Howard only started Single Use Ain’t Sexy (SUAS) last April, after returning from a 4-year stint in New York. His company makes eco-friendly soap to reduce single-use plastic consumption with dissolvable hand soap tablets and reusable glass dispensers. “It’s an exciting mission. You take one tablet, and you’ve saved another plastic bottle from Aussie landfill”, says Josh proudly. They have saved up to 100,000 plastic bottles in just eight months.
“Authenticity is key.” SUAS’s products are innovative, but part of his early success is that its personality and tone of voice are distinctive. Josh’s vibrant personality translates perfectly into the cheekiness of the brand. For him, “his company is a personification of the people behind it.” SUAS is not trying to be like any other brand. They’re setting their own rules.
One of those rules is to include everyone. Josh and SUAS put the word out on “sexy sustainability,” we don’t all have to be eco-warriors to make better environmental choices.
Having eco-anxiety pushed Josh to start SUAS. He was able to bridge the gap between contributing to the planet and looking good while on his mission. Josh took existing technology, and reinvented it, in a cool way, making it top of mind and a conversation starter.
Josh’s magic potion for maintaining his positivity and creativity is to work on projects that he is passionate about. About success? That didn’t come overnight. Josh went from Law School to working on TV shows. He has always been creative. It comes naturally. However, his creativity has been developing over the years and eventually got him to where he is now.
His creativity is sparked by being in movement, an experience his LEKKER has boosted. Josh found himself marrying up his daily routine with the creative process that’s required 24/7 to build his brand. With tech being such a massive part of his business, he sometimes feels powerless not being able to disconnect from it. He can do so whilst riding, but still makes a few stops to write down the ideas that come up during his journey.
Like SUAS’s latest Instagram post, Josh suggests washing your hands as if you’re washing Chris Hemsworth. Suddenly washing your hands becomes incredibly sexy! It is simply brilliant!
Design and functionality are essential elements that SUAS and LEKKER share. “It’s a vibe.” His Amsterdam+ electric bike makes him look good, and generates what he describes as “bike envy” when stopping with his LEKKER at a traffic light, it makes you feel invincible. “It’s cool to make conscious choices, a feeling we also want our buyers to have when they put a bottle of SUAS next to the kitchen sink.” It looks sexy, whilst being a conscious choice at the same time, the perfect combination.
Josh has been changing his behaviour because of his LEKKER, “in my head, I was planning out the time where it would be practical for me to use my electric bike, but I’ve completely changed my lifestyle, just so I can ride my bike.” His Amsterdam+ got him to experience never seen places in Melbourne, the city where he has spent his childhood years, and he feels it’s powerful when people change their lives to accommodate a product, like his LEKKER.
Josh has found that to keep his balance, he must keep moving.