Innovation

In 2007, Lush invented a body lotion called Charity Pot where 100% of proceeds (meaning everything of the purchase price minus taxes) went to supporting humanitarianism around the world, including environmental and animal rights. Since the launch of Charity Pot, more than $20,000,000 has been donated to grassroots charities in over 100 countries currently. 2% of the amount spent on raw materials and packaging is used to invest in sustainable farming projects and community projects right from scratch.

Charity Pot includes ingredients such as ylang-ylang oil, moringa oil, geranium oil, fresh aloe, shea butter, and fair trade organic cocoa butter, all supporting development in communities that protect ecosystems, increase food security, and support strong independent producers. Taryn Donohue, a Charity Pot All-Star and one of our interviewees, describes the organization's Charity Pot innovation, "The Charity Pot is in its 10th year of production. There’s 7 products in the pot, and 100% of the proceeds go to charity. Lush currently worked with over 1,000 grassroots charities, and the proceeds are divided evenly. Some of the organizations they work with promote gender equality, education, environmental initiatives. They are global and local - one of the local is Defend H20 which is de-polluting the Long Island Sound."

Inspiration

Taryn explains, "Charity Pot began in 2007 at a corporate level, so far over $20 million has been raised with 100% given to charity. The SLUSH fund was created in 2010, which stands for Sustainable Lush." She goes on to further explain, "It was a global launch and the Charity Pots are available at all stores, online and over the phone, so people have access globally." Continuing, "The Ingredients in the Charity Pot are fair trade. The shea butter is sourced from Ghana with an ethical buying team. Women were taught how to harvest, process, and package the shea butter. This taught the women a trade for generations and is helping the economic climate of Ghana." Charity Pot was reformulated in 2014 to include ingredients from Sustainable Lush Fund projects all over the world. The Sustainable Lush Fund was developed in 2010 when Lush decided they wanted to go beyond being fair trade and organic. Lush wanted to build direct relationships with communities where they could source their raw materials. The Sustainable Lush Fund is based on the main principles of permaculture: a natural design system that enriches local ecosystems and offers viable alternatives to standard industrial agriculture.

Overall impact

Whether it's through their products or business relations, Lush has done a tremendous amount of work towards making the world a more sustainable place. As discussed the majority of the ingredients used for Lush's products are listed as fair trade, meaning they are organic/natural and bought from producers that are fair trade certified. By getting involved with fair trade, Lush is ensuring that they are not supporting business that practice slave or child labor. They work alongside businesses with fair working standards, and help small producers become self-sufficient. One innovation showing the extensive impact that Lush's innovations have on communities, comes through the making of their knot-wraps. According to Jesse Guerrero, our main interviewee and Lush Senior Sales Ambassador, "A co-operation of Indian women were taught how to make knot-wraps from 100% organic cotton. This empowers the women to make an income and potentially leave dangerous and abusive relationships. It also helps with the economics of the country." Also, in the process of acquiring some of the best ingredients, Lush has even taken the responsibility of protecting areas of deforestation. Jesse explains, "Lush purchases acres of rosewood in Peru that were going extinct due to deforestation. The company protects the land, and only uses branches that naturally fall to the ground in their products."

Business benefit

Jesse believes that one of the many things that set Lush apart from other businesses are it's employee benefits. Lush also has an Internal Recycling program, where consumers can bring in 5 “black pots” (the packages many of their "liquid" products are sold in) and receive a free fresh face mask. The company recycles the black pots into new pots or into their customer shopping baskets. People love to hear when their money is going to good use, especially if they are getting something in return. At the end of the day, as a business, Lush has managed to both lower costs/raise revenue and have a lasting impact on countries everywhere. Lush is already a campaign driven company. Jesse explains, "I don't think we need to do anything differently but I hope we stay focused on the ethical campaigns. I like that the founder, Mark, is an older white man who uses his platform to speak about injustices globally including discrimination, women’s rights, and oppression. I believe his spirit and embodiment comes through in the campaigns." She further explains about employee benefits, "I think that the company sets itself apart with the employee benefits -- they provide paid maternity and paternity leave, and also have a lot of contests as a way to give back to the staff through internal contests and campaigns. I like that there is free speech and movement within Lush if employees have any questions or concerns."

Social and environmental benefit

When it comes to the retail operations, Lush stores are known for participating in 3-4 campaigns per year. In 2017 Lush was part of an "All Are Welcome" Campaign. They ended up adding to their "We Believe" Statement centering on inclusion; that everyone should enjoy freedom to be themselves all over the world. One of the most recent campaigns was "Death Does Not Equal Justice," which highlighted the terrible injustices occurring in the Criminal Justice System. The campaign focused on abolishing the death penalty. Customers were able to purchase a bath bomb for the cause and sign petitions. When Lush creates these innovations they provide the organizations they partner with "money up front, it is always a guarantee." Even when it comes to hiring employees for their organization as well as partnerships, Taryn explains, "There are strict requirements for the 100+ organizations Lush donates to, they cannot support violence, receive government funding, or have a religious affiliation (among other criteria)." The employees are trained and treated well, "Some of the campaigns can be sensitive, such as when they were raising awareness for the plight of Syrian refugees." She goes on to mention, "The employees' jobs are to educate consumers on issues, and to never get too preachy." Taryn likes how the company provides employees with so much education on current controversial topics, explaining, "There’s a 'general acceptance' in the store environment for consumers and employees. Lush recently added a 'preferred pronoun' section on their application, and there’s a gender neutral section within the store." Some of these reasons were why Jesse was drawn to work at Lush.

Interview

Jesse Guerrero & Taryn Donohue, Senior Sales Ambassador & Charity Pot All-Star