Lush (company)
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.
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, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, 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.
Lush grew out of Constantine and Weir plc's Cosmetics to Go mail order company which began operating in 1988. Lush itself started operating in 1994 as Cosmetics House, then in 1995 became Lush after a competition amongst customers. The winner was an Elizabeth Bennett, of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Ethos
Animal testing
Lush does not buy from companies which carry out, fund or commission any animal testing. Rather than have a fixed-cut off date for using ingredients that have been tested on animals, Lush does not purchase anything from companies that currently test any ingredients at all on animals. [1]
Lush believes that this offers a better financial benefit to companies to stop testing on animals than the traditional fixed-cut off date, as they 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.
Lush itself tests its products on human volunteers before they are sold.
Ingredients
Lush lists their product ingredients in English as well as Latin, and make as much as possible out of fresh fruit, vegetables and other plants, 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.
All Lush products are vegetarian, in that they contain no ingredients that require killing an animal, though many 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 and on signs in store.
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 ("Jungle"), and massage bars instead of massage oil. Lush's founders invented the solid bath ballistics and solid bubble bars.[citation needed]
Lush sometimes 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, shower gel, soap, lotion, bath bombs, dusting powder, massage bars and solid shampoo. The discontinued "Ginger" fragrance was also featured in a range of products.
Popularity
Many of Lush's customers have a high degree of brand loyalty. There are busy Internet forums run by Lush for North America, Australia/New Zealand, and the United Kingdom (the "International Forum"). Forum users exchanged tips and reviews of Lush products; the forums also enabled users to swap or sell Lush products to other forum users. Discontinued products, coveted by many fans, can sell for high prices on websites like eBay.
Criticisms
Overpowering Smell
Lush's stores are also known for their strong scent.
B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful
Lush's success encouraged Mark, Mo and Ro three of the founders, to develop a sister company which sells more expensive products, focusing on makeup and fragrances. Their fragrances are made using traditional ingredients, such as essential oils and floral absolutes, and are sold in specially made French glass bottles with old-fashioned atomiser pumps.
To date, there are only three B Never stores: two in London and one in Poole. However, the products can be purchased using mail order and through the company website.