Beauty doesn’t have to cost the earth
Environmental awareness may only just be creeping into the consciousness of the beauty industry, but there’s one company who has been pioneering in this field since its inception – Lush.
April 22nd 2010 will mark the 40th anniversary of the first Earth Day, when 20 million Americans protested against the damage being done to the planet. 2010 also marks Lush’s 15th anniversary and they are as committed today to ethical trading and sustainability as they were all those years ago.
Being green and environmentally aware doesn’t necessarily mean you have to spend a fortune, or give up all your favourite luxury products. When you buy from Lush you are guaranteed the most beautiful, fresh, effective products possible - you can also be happy in the knowledge that the company does all it can to help preserve our planet the way it is.
Lush especially like being naked and encourage you to do the same! Their innovative range of solid products allow minimal or no preservatives and packaging, which means less waste heading to landfill.
67% of the current product range is ‘naked’ and in 2009, in the UK alone, Lush sold over 5.9 million naked items. 200,000 of these items were shampoo bars, meaning that 15 tonnes of plastic was avoided.
Lush shampoo bars are small, convenient, easy to carry and easy to use. Use them just like soap to effectively clean the hair of everyday dirt and grime. Each bar lasts for over 80 washes, the equivalent of 3 bottles of 250g shampoo, which is both kinder for the environment and your wallet. Choose from ten varieties, including Squeaky Green (£4.65) or Godiva shampoo and conditioning bar (£5.50).
Lush’s other solid products include bath ballistics, bubble bars, body butters, massage bars, cleansers, shower jellies, sugar scrubs and soap. Lush soaps have a base that’s palm oil free, which means a reduction in annual palm use by approximately 250,000kg.
It’s imperative other businesses do the same, as until global levels of palm use are cut dramatically, and plans to use palm oil as a biofuel are scrapped entirely, there is little hope for a workable sustainable palm oil industry, and the future of the forests, animals and people of Indonesia and Malaysia is bleak.
By choosing products not containing palm oil, like Lush soap, you are doing your bit to help preserve the only remaining habitat of the orangutan, as if things continue as they are then they will be extinct within 10 years.
Lush’s Charity Pot project (where all proceeds of the product, minus the VAT, go to charities) also enables fantastic support for grass root causes in areas such as conservation, transport, environmental issues, animal rescue and protection and human rights. Sales of Charity Pot hand and body lotion (£12.50) has gone to groups such as the Sumatran Orangutan Society; Plane Stupid; Reprieve; Sea Shepherd; The Animal Protection Agency and The Fresh Start Foundation.
The Fresh Start Foundation is a charity that helps orphaned and other vulnerable children in Gambia, West Africa, through support of a local school and clinic. Not only did Lush donate through the Charity Pot, but a group of volunteers went over to help paint the school; plant their vegetable garden and organise their school library.
Lush has a very strong commitment to the communities and areas from which they buy ingredients and feel that all ingredients should be bought in a respectful way, treading as lightly on the planet as possible.
In order to understand the impact of our purchasing decisions, for many years Lush have had a policy of trying to eliminate the ‘middle man’ wherever possible and going straight to the growers and processors in order to learn the true story of each ingredient. This also enables the company to check the impact their buying has.
To pick up lots of ethical, cruelty free cosmetics visit Lush shops nationwide or order on-line at lush.co.uk.
