Lush (company)

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Lush is a company based in Poole in Dorset in the UK that produces and sells fresh hand-made bath products, soaps, body lotions and cosmetics. The company's shops project an informal image. Shoppers are invited to sample the products and chat with staff in an open environment. The nearby presence of a Lush shop is often indicated by the distinctive smell of the products. Since July 2007, mail-order goods have been packed using popcorn as filler rather than the shredded paper used previously. According to an article in The Guardian^[1] the popcorn is 60% lighter than the shredded paper packing, saving 10% on shipping costs and using roughly the same amount of energy to 'pop' as to shred the paper. [1]

Since the first Lush shop opened in the United Kingdom, they have expanded to more than 450 stores located in Australia, Austria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Macedonia, Malta, Morocco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and the USA.

1 Products
- 1.1 Ingredients
2 Ethos
3 Campaigning
4 Business Structure
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Products

To reduce waste and the need for preservatives, Lush makes many products solid, so they can be sold wrapped in paper or in small bags. Bubble bath, for example, which other companies usually sell in liquid form in bottles, is sold in solid form by Lush. Lush also sells solid shampoo bars, solid conditioner bars, and solid massage bars in order to reduce packaging usually associated with these items. Lush's founders invented the solid bath ballistics and solid bubble bars.^{[citation needed]}

Lush makes several products with the same fragrance. "Karma" is Lush's signature fragrance; it contains patchouli, pine and citrus notes, and has been used in bubble bars, soap, lotion, perfume, dusting powder, and solid shampoo. The discontinued "Ginger" fragrance was also featured in a range of products.

Lush sells its products only through its stores and through direct mail order from the company. Lush stores aren't franchised domestically, but overseas retail operations are.

[edit] Ingredients

Lush lists their product ingredients in English as well as Latin, and utilizes fresh fruit, vegetables, and other plant products, including essential oils. Ingredients are listed in descending order of quantity used in making the product. Lush uses fresh ingredients for their products, and so inventory is maintained at lower levels to ensure that only fresh products are sold. Many products are labeled with a use-by date. Individuals who work for the company often joke that their products are actually only one or two ingredients away from being edible. [citation needed] In addition, Lush tries to reduce or altogether remove the use of synthetics in their products.

All Lush products are vegetarian, in that they contain no ingredients that require killing an animal, and only 25% contain animal products like beeswax, honey, free range eggs and lanolin. Products which contain no animal ingredients at all are marked as vegan in Lush catalogues, on store displays, and on the container itself, usually indicated by a bright green 'V'. Approximately 75% of the products at Lush are vegan.

Lush does not test on animals, nor will buy any ingredients from a source that tests any of its products on animals. It's a complete boycott against animal testing. Lush will only use Synthetics that they deem to be safe, that also have a long history of safe use. There are Paraben-based preservatives in their products, which have been tested on animals (tested by other companies/firms/etc)and shown to reduce male fertility ^[2] and have been linked to breast cancer ^[3]. Parabens are the subject of intense scientific speculation. Some other ecologically-conscious stores ^[4] have refused to use parabens altogether.

Lush also sells a variety of solid products which don't need packaging or preservatives. In the Liquid products that Lush sells, there is a very minimal amount of Methylparaben and/or Propylparabens, which are deemed safest of all parabens. Lush will also source Fair trade ingredients where possible, and has an active team that travels around the world making sure that the companies and Villages are being treated fair and getting their share of pay.

[edit] Ethos

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Lush does not buy from companies that carry out, fund or commission any animal testing.^[5] The company claims that this offers a greater incentive for companies to stop testing on animals than the "fixed-cut off date" approach used by peers. Lush will not boycott a company or ingredient for testing in the past. Therefore, a company that currently tests on animals still has an incentive to cease all current testing.^{[citation needed]} Lush itself tests its products on human volunteers before they are sold.^{[citation needed]}

In keeping with its stated ethos, Lush has also begun to phase out its use of sodium palm kernelate. Sodium palm kernelate is derived from trees in the natural habitat of orangutans. Although Lush has been involved in multiple replanting efforts to neutralize their use, the trees have not been growing as quickly as anticipated. Greenwash, a pine scented soap, is the first soap to be made using palm-free soap noodles, although it still contains SLS, which is derived from palm oil.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Campaigning

In 2007 Lush started openly supporting small radical campaigning groups by sending a dozen groups cheques for £1000 each, including road protests groups such as Road Block and NoM1Widening, Seeds for change (activist training), Hacan Clear Skies (anti-aviation group), and Dump the Dump (which is flighting against an incinerator)^[6]. They introduced the "Charity Pot" each promoting a different small charity on the lid, and where the full purchase price (except for VAT) goes to charity^[7]. They have also introduced a range of "Go Green" products that they say are inspired by Rebecca Lush (no relation), a roads campaigner who set up Road Block in the early 1990s, pied Jeremy Clarkson for his glorification of the car and who now works for the Campaign for Better Transport^[8].

[edit] Business Structure

Lush is a privately-owned company with only a small number of shares available on an invitation basis only. The company's growth is based mainly upon franchise holders.