OUR STORY · EST. IN THE COVID GARDEN DAYS
IT ALL STARTED
WITH SOME SEEDS.
Not a business plan. Not a grand idea. Just a guy, a little spare time, and the urge to grow something unusual.
“I HAD NOTHING
ELSE TO DO.”
During COVID, I had nothing to do, so I got some luffa seeds and grew them—just because I wanted to.
That's the real beginning of Big Mo’s Luffas. What started as a simple experiment with a vine-growing gourd eventually became the inspiration for a brand with a big mascot, even bigger personality, and plenty of shower-inspired humor.
We still keep that same spirit. On our official slogan shirts, the original Big Mo mascot stays on the front left chest, while the big saying goes across the back.
SOMETIMES “JUST BECAUSE” IS A PRETTY GOOD REASON.
YES, A LUFFA
GROWS ON A VINE.
A luffa, also spelled loofah, is not a sponge from the ocean. It’s a climbing member of the cucumber family. The young fruit can be eaten as a vegetable. Once fully mature and dried, the inner fiber network becomes a natural scrubbing sponge.
The cultivated sponge gourd has a long history in Asia, then spread to other warm regions of the world—including the United States.
A LITTLE U.S.
LUFFA HISTORY.
Already growing in the United States
In an 1898 article about American fiber crops, USDA fiber specialist Charles Richards Dodge noted that the sponge cucumber was imported from Japan for bath use and that the plant also grew in the United States.
See the original 1898 article ↗More than a bath sponge
During World War II, loofah fiber was used in engine filters and some protective equipment. Wartime disruptions to trade made supplies from Japan harder to obtain, renewing attention to alternative sources.
Read the plant-history reference ↗A new look at growing luffas here
Research in Missouri and North Carolina showed that American commercial sponge-gourd production could be feasible. Home gardeners were already growing luffas across much of the country.
Explore NC State Extension research ↗From backyard vines to natural scrubbers
American gardeners and specialty growers still raise luffa. The fibrous mature gourd is valued for cleaning and bathing, while the young fruit remains part of cuisines around the world.
Learn about growing luffa in the U.S. ↗AND THEN CAME BIG MO.
SOME SEEDS.
ONE BIG IDEA.
That’s how Big Mo’s Luffas got started. No complicated origin story needed.
CLEAN. EXFOLIATE. ELEVATE.
EXPLORE THE BIG MO T-SHIRTS ↗