It produces and sells creams, soaps, shampoos, shower gels, lotions, moisturisers, scrubs, masks, and other cosmetics for the face and hair.
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.
[19] In December 2010, Mark and his wife Mo Constantine were awarded the OBE in the New Year's Honours list, for services to the beauty industry.
[23] At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lush offered the public free handwashing in all its stores, as a means to help slow the spread of the virus.
[25][26][27][28] Later in March, the company announced it was laying off staff in Canada due to the impact that the pandemic was having on its operation, facing a future with a "much smaller business".
[29] In 2021, Lush removed its Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok accounts citing negative mental health and body image effects caused by such services.
[13] 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.
[38] Lush produces creams, soaps, shampoos, shower gels, lotions, moisturisers, fragrances, scrubs, toothpaste tablets, masks and other cosmetics for the face, hair, and body using only vegetarian or vegan recipes.
[45] 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.
[54] However, many Lush products continue to contain palm oil, and palm-oil derivatives such as stearic acid, cetostearyl alcohol and sodium stearate.
[citation needed] They often contain fruits and vegetables such as grapefruit juice, vanilla beans, aloe vera, avocado butter, rosemary oil, fresh papaya, and coconut.
Lush released the following statement: "Recently, one shop within the UK&I business briefly displayed a 'Boycott Israel' message in their window.
[66] In December 2006, Lush protested outside the European Parliament in Strasbourg, by attempting to dump horse manure outside the building.
[70][71] In 2011, Lush supported OneWorld's track Freedom for Palestine, which led to backlash from Israel advocacy groups, such as StandWithUs.
[65] On 31 May 2018, Lush launched a campaign aimed to highlight previous abuses by undercover police officers in the UK.
The company put up window displays in its stores with a mock-up of a police officer in and out of uniform alongside the tag-line "Paid to lie #Spycops".
[81] Many notable figures were critical of the campaign by Lush, including Chief Police Officers and the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid.
[87] 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".
[89] 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.
[91] Beginning in 2020, Lush North America faced criticism for union busting and poor working conditions.
In response, Lush handed out anti-union leaflets, held captive audience meetings, and allegedly targeted union organisers.
The charges allege that the company's actions in response to the union organising drive, as well as retaliation against individual employees was unlawful.