Natural sponge – what it is and where it’s found
Natural sponges, or sea sponges, represent some of the oldest of all living creatures. Long before chemically engineered, machined foams came on the market, man was hunting the warm Mediterranean and Pacific oceans for the elusive skeletons of these fascinating sea animals, to be dried and used as cosmetic, cleaning and bath sponges.
Although they have largely been replaced by manmade cellulose products, it is still possible to buy natural sponges from UK foam exporters like us at Technical Foam Services, though as with all natural resources it’s essential they are harvested responsibly. Sea sponges take many years to grow, and in the past enormous harm was done to fragile marine environments by over-zealous fishermen.
Sea sponges only grow in shallow, warm waters, where – like coral – they come in many fantastic shapes, sizes and colours. They tend to lose this colour as they dry, though people feel this is part of their attraction. Some sponges are branched like coral, while others are small, flat and round, or tube shaped.
Like manufactured open cell foams, sponges have a porous structure. Lacking any specialised organs, and living their entire lives attached to rocks on the sea bed, they have a soft, spongy skeleton covered by a leathery skin. Seawater is pumped through open pores and nutrients and oxygen extracted, the excess leaving the body through large holes called oscula.
Amazingly marine natural sponges have been in existence for around 700 million years, and have changed little in that time. Cellulose sponges are cheap and popular – but nothing beats the feel of the natural product on the skin. Hence their popularity as bath sponges and cosmetics applicators.
Tags: cellulose sponges, foam, natural sponges, open cell foams
