The compostable luffas can be used to clean everything from sensitive skin to cast-iron skillets
A Common Joy luffa; Brian Wheat shows off a luffa plant.
Agriculture has always been a part of Brian Wheat’s life: from his first job working on a farm in New York, to serving as the director of sustainable agriculture for Lowcountry Local First from 2016 to 2018. While touring a farm on John’s Island in 2015, Wheat encountered a luffa gourd (a member of the cucumber family) growing on a vine and saw its potential to thrive in the Lowcountry. “I made it my mission to grow something that did well here in our increasingly hot, humid climate and also something that really wasn’t in competition at all,” he says.
After researching the gourd’s water-absorbing and exfoliating properties, Wheat founded organic luffa sponge company Common Joy in 2017. Billed as “all plant and all-purpose,” the natural sponges are 100-percent compostable, longer lasting than synthetic options, and can be used to clean everything from sensitive skin to cast iron.
Wheat grows his crop on farmland at Kiawah River on John’s Island using sustainable practices such as integrated pest management and soil regeneration before harvesting, peeling, and drying the gourds. As a horticulture professor at Trident Technical College, he often incorporates lessons from the field into the classroom.
Wheat sells the luffas at more than 50 retail locations, as well as farmers markets in the Charleston area. “The most fun part about the business is getting to blow people’s minds on a regular basis,” he says. “I hear so many people saying, ‘Oh my gosh, this is amazing,’ especially when they use it in the kitchen to do their dishes.” Learn more at commonjoy.com.
