Lush?

At some point I commuted into Victoria station. Lush was is next to the cheese shop where you could buy a lovely cheese sandwich or roll, but all you could smell was Lush.

I wish these companies knew their target markets. It is mums deciding to hand over the money. I won't mine when they don't acknowledge sex over gender.

Lush used to be a massive Xmas tradition in my family.

I'd buy for xh, various SILs & dc; xh would buy for me, his mum & the other women in his family. Once you add up all the perfumes, which were nice but pricey, & the gift boxes, I reckon we'd be dropping about £500 their way.

I ditched them a couple of years ago after various political silliness on their side, & honestly, the whole world & their grandma are making bath bombs these days. It's a lump of bicarb, some perfume & some flowery &/or glittery gunk.

They aren't needed, the high street generally is right in the shit, & they've chosen now to piss off absolutely everyone. .

I miss Karma shampoo bars & Breath of God perfume, but I've not had to look too far to find substitutes.

Idiots. No sense & no ethics. No thanks.

Is lush the one that had their staff go naked bar an apron?

And another time encouraged fandoms to kiss the staff?

With apparently zero interest in what this would mean for the female staff?

Sounds like I still need to go somewhere else for my Christmas soap Oh well...

I love Lush stuff and was a bit miffed to have to boycott them. I'm not sure I'm going to un-boycott them just yet though. It sounds like they're a bit confused. Plus their insistence on making their staff pursue and harrass shoppers still makes me cross.

Me too on all that - I really love some Lush products, but am resisting virtuously & purely (my own purity spiral).

I do hate the way they follow you around the shop though - if ever it's 'safe' to go back there again, I may have to have words with the manager.

Yes, I am becoming that woman - there has to be some benefit for reaching your early 60s.

yes vile ! my boycott holds FIRM

This blog details what an awful company Lush is.

mitheringsfrommorningside.wordpress.com/tag/lush/

@MindTheMinotaur

Never read a post from Sophocles that I didn't like. The Robespierre award? This has to happen.

Perhaps we should have MN feminist chat awards for 2020? I can think of a few categories! Nuttiest conspiracy linking GC feminists with the far right, most egregious examples of misreporting, biggest victories...

Funny how TRAs couldn't care less about the dreadful stunts Lush has pulled over the years, its unethical practices and the way it treats its staff, but bunging a few quid to WPUK is beyond the pale.

It's almost like they only care about themselves...

Never read a post from Sophocles that I didn't like. The Robespierre award? This has to happen.

Sorry - is this fake news??? A joke??

I've been boycotting them since the first time they went anti-women. Not sorry though. I found some awesome, truly ethical companies that make amazing products that are not over priced nor over perfumed.

weare.lush.com/lush-life/our-giving/lush-charity-pot-donations/

Updated statement making it clear that Lush deeply regret supporting a left wing women's organisation.

The older I get the more I care about ethical shopping /eating etc. I was really hoping to un-boycot them because my eldest adores their bath bombs. But I won't fund misogyny if I can help it. My son is GNC and it makes me furious that adults supporting woke ideology for brownie points and no personal cost are potentially putting his future health and happiness at risk.

‘We just sell soap and smellies’ (and keep it of politics) would have saved a lot of headaches.

Being realistic they should stop responding. Whether it's feminists or TRAs refusing to shop there it won't make a massive difference in the end. Their shops tend to be in large shopping centres and tourist cities, they'll have plenty of footfall from people who have no interest in any of the arguments and just like pretty, smelly toiletries.

Hopefully they've learned there is no appeasement and very shortly any donations they give to causes that even vaguely mention women or girls in any context will incur wrath.

I have a slightly better opinion (ignoring the naked staff thing) of them if they donate to both sides. Any good charity fund should assess each application as to the tangible benefits to the community that's applying for it and go from there.

I love Lush stuff and was a bit miffed to have to boycott them. I'm not sure I'm going to un-boycott them just yet though. It sounds like they're a bit confused. Plus their insistence on making their staff pursue and harrass shoppers still makes me cross.

I wonder whether this is due to decisions being made at local level sometimes without being agreed centrally. I'm not sure whether for the charity pots there may be some discretion given to individual stores for example, as I think (correct me if I'm wrong) they may sometimes support smaller local charities? So I wonder whether it might be that one store or regional manager who is either oblivious to the debate or secretly GC was persuaded to support WPUK without it being a company-wide decision? I think some of the negative statements (e.g. about not being allowed in in a Woman t-shirt) might also have been individuals' opinions rather than an official policy.

I used to be a big fan of their stuff, but their statements about this and other recent actions suggest they have not changed their tune overall, and even if they had I don't think they've done enough yet to cancel out their previous actions, both on this and their poor treatment of female staff in the past. But I hope this may indicate either some softening, or dissent in the ranks. I won't be ending my boycott yet, but am debating whether I'm allowed ONE little Christmas soap or something to celebrate a small step in the right direction

I am thinking of starting the Robespierre awards for people and companies who think they are on the right side of history, right up until they make a tiny mis step and get shipped off for re-education with the rest of us...

Lush: from “no bigots in our shops” to donating to WPUK.
Eddie Redmayme for going from being feted for his sensitive portrayal of a trans character, bringing the topic to a big budget film, to being castigated for taking the role from an actual trans person
Amanda Jetté Knox for going from”fearless trans advocate” to “stop talking for trans people, you’re not trans”.
Damian Barr for going from the heady heights of getting Baroness Nicholson off the board of the Booker, to himself getting cancelled for his extremely unpleasant historical transphobic comments.

This is tongue in cheek, but I’m also making a serious comment about McCarthyism. People are afraid to speak about this topic, and that worries me.

ManderleyAgain

FiLiA, I think

Yep.
In 2005 or earlier, staff at lush asked him about going fair trade on coffee /cocoa ingredients etc. He declined, his reason being that if they went fair trade, the unfair trade employed people would lose their jobs and income. I think they went fair trade a bit after that...

Lush was started by a bloke Mark Consodine its not in any way shape or form a women owned biz

Interesting. I've had issues with trying to even communicate with the lush grant givers and charity pot organisers/funding coordinators in the past about funding problematic groups

Is one of the lush people called Rebecca?

Lush's 2 statements about giving to wpuk.
weare.lush.com/lush-life/our-giving/lush-charity-pot-donations/
I think their November statement is actually OK (or at least not too bad). It's sensible not to fund campaigning either way on a legal change. But they don't think they have relevant 'lived experience' on these issues even though they are mostly women!
Their recent statement (top) is more cowardly. They are in effect saying that by funding the groups they have inadvertently funded toxicity & campaigning against trans rights.
Who is the other named group? They refer to 2 but don't say who.
Tra's on twitter has done some digging and are naming someone who was a lush fundraising coordinator who also attended wpuk meetings.