Lush (company)
Lush Retail Ltd. is a British cosmetics retailer which is headquartered in Poole, Dorset, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1995 by trichologist Mark Constantine, his wife Mo Constantine and five other founders.
It produces and sells creams, soaps, shampoos, shower gels, lotions, moisturisers, scrubs, masks, and other cosmetics for the face and hair.
The organisation claims it uses only vegetarian recipes, 95% of which are also vegan. The company operates stores in 51 countries globally, as well as production facilities located in the United Kingdom, Canada, Croatia, Germany, Japan, Australia and Poland.
Business structure[edit]
Lush is a privately owned company with a small number of shares available on an invitation-only basis.[33] The company operates in 49 countries, with approximately 20% of its stores located in the US as of 2017.[12]
Many of the global operations outside the UK were founded via joint venture agreements between Lush and third parties.[34] In 1996, a joint venture agreement was signed to expand the cosmetics operation to North America. This began by opening stores in Canada, and six years after the initial move into the North American market, Lush opened its first store in the United States.[35] A similar arrangement saw the launch of Lush Australia in 1997, when the first store opened in the country.[36]
The company follows a "no advertising policy", in which it does not spend money on TV campaigns or celebrity endorsements, and instead relies heavily on user-generated content.[37] However, the company partnered with drag queens from RuPaul's Drag Race alumnae Kim Chi, Detox and Shea Couleé in the holiday season of 2018 to create photo campaigns for their new products.[38] Products are also advertised through staff engaging in "random acts of kindness", where they are allowed to give away products to customers.[39] Lush states that it does not have a target demographic, and that as a brand it is "trying to make [its] stores welcoming to all".[40]
Ingredients and ethics[edit]
Lush does not buy from companies that carry out, fund, or commission any animal testing.[45][46] They test their products on human volunteers.[47]
In the 1980s, the founders worked with Cruelty Free International (previously known as BUAV), with the aim of developing an ethical testing standard, specifically for cosmetic companies.[48] The project led to the creation of cruelty-free standards still used today in the field of cosmetics.[48]
Lush stipulates that they will not knowingly purchase from suppliers or supply chains that have been party to animal testing in any way, including the testing of raw materials on animals.[49] This stance against animal testing has meant that there are some countries where Lush refuses to sell its products.[50] An exception to this is REACH legislation, which was implemented by the European Union in 2007.[51][52]
In late 2007, Lush introduced its first palm oil-free soap entitled "Greenwash", utilising a blend of sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, and coconut oil.[53][54] Due to the soap's success, the company decided to switch both UK and overseas production from palm oil to this blend,[53][55] significantly reducing the amount of palm oil the company purchased.[56] However, many Lush products continue to contain palm oil, and palm-oil derivatives such as stearic acid, cetostearyl alcohol and sodium stearate.[55][57][58] Since 2017, Lush has campaigned against the production and harvesting of palm oil, which is associated orangutan habitat destruction in Sumatra,[57] and since 2018 has purchased two plots of land bordering the Leuser Ecosystem on Sumatra to reforest.[59]
Lush products are 100% vegetarian, and 95% of the products are also vegan. They often contain fruits and vegetables such as grapefruit juice, vanilla beans, aloe vera, avocado butter, rosemary oil, fresh papaya, and coconut.[60] However, some products contain honey, and/or beeswax. Eggs used to be in products but was removed early 2019 and replaced by aquafaba, similarly lanolin was removed from all formulas in 2023. Parabens are used to preserve a number of the products.[61]
Lush focuses on limited packaging for its product range, or package-free products.[62][58][63]
The Environment Possibility Award conferred the "Award of Earth Defender" to Lush in 2020.[64]
Boycott Israel controversy[edit]
During the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, a sign was placed in front of Lush's Dublin store saying "Boycott Israel".[65] This caused a backlash with their call to boycott. Lush released the following statement: "Recently, one shop within the UK&I business briefly displayed a 'Boycott Israel' message in their window. It was an isolated occurrence that does not represent the Lush ethos that 'All Are Welcome. Always.' and was swiftly removed. Lush deplores all acts of violence and our wish is for peace and safety for all Israeli and Palestinian people. We support the upholding of international law and the human rights of all peoples."[66][67]
Criticism[edit]
In 2015, Lush was criticised for insensitivity when it stocked a new product, Lavender Hill Mob – a brand of incense inspired by the 2011 London riots, featuring a graphic of a burning building. Lavender Hill itself had been targeted by looters and rioters, but Lush stated that it was "created to emphasise the importance of community".[91]
Labour relations[edit]
In July 2018, Lush Australia admitted owing more than 5,000 staff members up to $2 million in back pay. Lush Australia director Peta Granger said staff across the retail and manufacturing businesses have been underpaid since 2010 due to incorrect interpretations of the retail award.[92] In 2020, The Guardian raised concerns about the labour conditions at the Lush kitchen in Sydney, Australia, due to the high rate of injury reported by factory staff.[93] During the August 2020 resurgence of COVID-19 in Auckland, New Zealand, Lush employees were given 48 hours notice that they would not receive pay for the duration of level 3 restrictions when the stores were unable to open, prompting negotiations between Lush and First Union New Zealand. Lush were ineligible for the government wage subsidy for staff, as their revenues had not decreased enough during this period.[94]
Beginning in 2020, Lush North America faced criticism for union busting and poor working conditions. In September 2020, Lush workers in Toronto launched a campaign to unionise.[95][96] Employees complained about having their voices stifled by the company; facing retaliation for speaking out; having pay well below a living wage; and unfairly barring some employees from stability and benefits by abusing the company's seasonal contract policies. In response, Lush handed out anti-union leaflets, held captive audience meetings, and allegedly targeted union organisers.[96] This is in contrast to the company's ethical buying policy, which states the importance of collective bargaining. Workers United Canada Council, the union representing Lush Workers, filed charges against the company in both the United States and Canada. The charges allege that the company's actions in response to the union organising drive, as well as retaliation against individual employees was unlawful.[97][98] Lush North America was officially acquired by Lush UK in 2021, but as of 2021 these issues remain unchanged.
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