Lush, one of the UK’s largest beauty retail chains, closed all of its stores across the country for the day on Wednesday, placing posters in its shop windows that read “Stop starving Gaza. We are closed in solidarity.”
A statement on the brand’s website also said the company was pausing e-commerce and closing its UK factories.
“Across the Lush business we share the anguish that millions of people feel seeing the images of starving people in Gaza, Palestine,” the statement reads. The website noted that, by halting operations, the brand will deprive the UK government of the day’s tax contributions. Its intention is to urge government action to bring an immediate end to the war in Gaza and stop arms sales to Israel from the UK, it said.
Lush trades in over 50 countries but was originally founded in the UK, which is why it is “lifting [its] voice” in the UK first, it stated on its site. “However, we know that sentiment across the international Lush business is strong and we expect similar actions may follow as other Lush countries seek ways to express their solidarity.”
Lush is among a few beauty brands that have openly criticised Israel’s war in Gaza, including Huda Beauty, Topicals, SimiHaze Beauty, Glossy Makeup founded by celebrity make-up artist Natasha Zaki. The company has a history of brand activism, including the “Spy Cops” campaign in 2018 which highlighted historical police surveillance of environmental activists. In 2021, it also deleted its social-media accounts, saying that social media causes harm to users’ mental health and urging technology companies to create safer environments.
In the statement on its site, Lush also said it will bring back its Watermelon Slice soap, a previously limited-edition product which raised funds for urgent mental health support services and therapy for children in Gaza and the West Bank.
According to Lush, the soap has been its most popular charitable launch ever, and its success indicates how strongly its customers feel about the crisis in Palestine. Proceeds from sales of the soap will now go towards providing medical services and prosthetic limbs in Gaza.
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We asked Lush, the bodycare giant which closed its accounts in 2021.