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Lush’s storefronts, ordinarily decked with neon bubble bars and bath bombs, have gone dark today in support of Gaza. The cosmetics retailer has closed its 113 U.K. locations and plastered posters saying “Stop starving Gaza” on store windows.
“Shutting the shops felt like the biggest statement we could make,” Hilary Jones, Lush’s global ethics director, told Campaign. “There’s a whole population of people who are starving and deprived of medical supplies. Those borders need to open up for a flood of aid — not a trickle, not a controlled amount.”
Lush’s U.K. factories and website are also closed today ahead of Thursday’s Global Strike for Gaza — a purchasing boycott initiated by the The New England Network For Justice For Palestine to “shake global economies and demand governments listen to the global collective through sustained repetition,” according to the strike’s announcement.
“Whilst Lush is losing a day of takings, this also means that the U.K. government is losing a day of tax contributions from Lush and our customers,” the brand’s company statement wrote. “We hope they, too, hear the message our closure sends, with more government action needed to bring an immediate stop to the death and destruction, including an end to arms sales from the U.K.”
“There’s this looming crisis with amputees, but no services. The health system is absolutely not able to cope, and civic society isn’t geared up to deal with the amount of disabled citizens they’re going to have,” Jones explained.
Lush, which was founded as a vegetarian and sustainability-focused brand in 1995, has historically supported humanitarian and environmental efforts. The brand launched a Hand of Friendship soap to aid Syrian refugees settling in North America; suspended product supplies to its 48 Russian locations to support Ukraine; and launched a Late Bloomer bath bomb with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney to fundraise for trans organizations.
But backing Palestine, a country that’s supplied Lush with bulk product ingredients such as olive oil and almond oil, has been more "frustrating" and difficult due to strict border controls, Jones said.
“There is nothing Lush can do to get a crust of bread extra into Gaza, or one dose of anesthetic extra into Gaza,” Jones explained. “Having to watch and feel so impotent is difficult for everyone across the business, and you can only feel like that for so long.”
The major escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict since 2023 has been a taboo topic for “not just brands, but everybody,” Jones explained, comparing the widespread support for Live Aid’s efforts in alleviating famine in Ethiopia in the 1980s to now, when “nobody’s raising their voices for the same kind of physical conditions manifesting in the population of Gaza,” she said.
While this week’s Lush store closures directly call for the prevention of civilian starvation in Gaza, they also aim to set an example for brands and consumers to “open up conversation” and support for those suffering in Palestine, Jones explained.
“Today, we've had so many Palestinian people thank us for seeing them, hearing them and taking a stand, with messages saying, ‘I will hold you in my heart for the rest of my life.’ They obviously feel very hurt, isolated and frightened, and to see a brand standing up has meant the world, they told us,” Jones said. “I think that’s a message that should go out to everyone: Palestinian people want to hear from the rest of the world.”
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