The revolution begins on the throne!
Did you know that we spend an average of 2 years of our lives on the toilet? No? Neither did we! But thanks to Sandra Legel, now we know! For 4 years, this entrepreneur who switched to the eco-design of everyday products has studied your toilets inside and out. Eco-design, what's that? Eco-design is part of the circular economy. It considers environmental issues when creating an innovative product to limit its impact and resource waste. We analyze the life cycle of a product to promote its durability by planning its revaluation or non-obsolescence in advance.
Common sense, you might say? Yes, but not yet sufficiently applied to the production methods of our everyday objects. Rarely made in France, inefficient, created from polluting materials, it was time to dust off the toilet brush. Yes, you read that right: our little tool for cleaning the toilet bowl has been redesigned. Sandra Legel presents to us bbb, the Brush: made in the Oise from recycled materials, designed to last a lifetime, designed to be both efficient, flexible and rigid, and without letting a drop of toilet water fall on your floor! Believe it or not, she is the first woman to have designed a toilet brush, while according to Eurostat statistics 80% of women in couples are in charge of housework.
Building the world of tomorrow together
For such a result, Sandra had to surround herself with the right people. Engineers, designers, graphic designers contributed to creating this first product that will revolutionize your toilets. At her beginnings, she even managed to engage her partners through bartering. And that will mark the values of BIOM Paris: cooperation. Convinced that it is #together that we will make things move, Sandra Legel financed the production of the first units of bbb, the Brush with the help of Ulule contributors. Today, she is launching her first crowdfunding campaign to invite new investors to take part in its development. A cooperative enterprise, she makes her company shares available and even slips a few golden tickets into some orders that make some customers very lucky shareholders of BIOM Paris. Willy Wonka's Golden tickets, you say? Yes, a bit in that spirit, with a great desire to bring as many people as possible into this new world of eco-design.
“Every time, I had people who helped me go further. If I succeed tomorrow, it will be thanks to others.” - Sandra Legel
She is also delighted to count the 1st woman associated with her company: Daniela, Sales Manager. Strongly invested and with remarkable work, she has become her right hand in this great entrepreneurial adventure. And the importance of surrounding yourself with women, Sandra knows well. Former winner of Paris Pionnières (now become Willa), she is today on the Board of Directors of this 1st incubator that promotes diversity in entrepreneurship.
How can we contribute to a new society of eco-design?
For Sandra, it is essential to consider the impact generated by the product. That is why, she teamed up with theMu Eco-design Agency to be accompanied. Together, they set up 9 parameters to measure and limit the impact of bbb, the Brush such as sourcing, materials but also transport in its manufacturing and distribution. Aware that a product is never 100% flawless, Sandra chooses notably to import some raw materials to contribute to a health problem. Sargassum seaweed for example, used to make bbb, the Brush, is imported from the Caribbean where it invades the entire coast and endangers its inhabitants.
Today, very few products are eco-designed. And it is a problem that concerns everyone. If her project had the chance to benefit from aid from theADEME Ecological Transition Agency, she confides that production costs are more expensive for eco-designed products, which justifies a higher price on the market. However, Sandra's first desire is to make her product accessible so that a larger number of people take part in this new eco-designed society.
And she is right to see things big because in 2019 it is more than 13 thousand consumers won over and 1600 brushes sold in 6h during a special sale with our German neighbors. A real success and Sandra does not intend to stop there! She will soon launch her first brush box with integrated soap holder and toilet towel, to give as an offbeat gift but certainly appreciated. And yes, well assumed!
Find Sandra Legel's journey in her Creator Story and the Biom Paris collection on Meanwhile Boutique.
Written by the pen of Whitney Agui
Associated with the project, she takes care of the Editorial line of Meanwhile Boutique. Graduated in communication and management of projects from the E.S.S, she today puts her creativity and her sharp pen at the service of the brands of the collective. Brand content, article writing, storytelling: she highlights eco-responsible practices and actors of change through the entire content of Meanwhile Boutique to inspire new modes of consumption.
