ACTIVITIES

1) FIGHTING ANIMAL TESTING

Fighting animal testing should be more than a slogan; it needs to be a genuine

practice. Unfortunately, its become commonplace in the North American
cosmetics industry to test products and their ingredients on animals in labs.
Laboratory testing is done to substances that make up these cosmetic products,
to see whether they are likely to harm people, or damage the environment when
they are disposed of.

LUSH had been against animal testing for over 30 years and will continue to
inform, encourage and participate in the fight for animal rights. The founders of
LUSH have been passionately fighting against animal testing during all of this
time, long before LUSH was even an idea. Since the movement to stop animal
testing started, policies have been created to work with cosmetics companies
and raw materials suppliers to end animal cruelty.

As a cosmetics company they care deeply about both the quality of their
products and the safety of their customers, and we happily comply with federal
safety standards. Cosmetic companies are responsible for providing safety
assurances in whatever manner they deem appropriate. This can be done without
any new animal testing by relying on the roughly 20,000 established cosmetic
ingredients that have already been evaluated for their safety, and through the
use of a growing number of proven, non-animal test methods.

Alternatives

The science of cosmetics safety testing has progressed greatly in recent years,
and there are now dozens of proven non-animal test methods accepted by
government regulators of cosmetics. Examples include 3-dimensional human skin
models, which can fully replace the use of rabbits for skin irritation testing, and
cell culture tests for sunlight-induced photo-toxicity, genetic mutations, and
other harmful effects. Non-animal methods have been shown to be scientifically
superior and usually take less time to complete, at a fraction of the cost of
animal experiments.
Policy

LUSH policy is the result of a personal effort to reduce animal testing, for
companies who supply raw materials to change the way they test for safety and
to stop money from going to companies who we believe are morally unsound.

They operate their own unique Supplier Specific Boycott, which states they will
not buy any ingredient from any manufacturer or supplier that tests anything
they produce on any animals for any reason. LUSH ensure the safety of their
products by only using ingredients with a long history of safe use, and by testing
the finished products on a panel of human volunteers. We support the
development and validation of non-animal tests, and campaign against
legislation that requires animals to be experimented on. Not only is LUSH
passionate about the animal testing policy, their passion also extends to the
commitment they have to sourcing ingredients from suppliers that are congruent
with their ethics and standards.

LUSH extremely strict policy against animal testing is unique, and they want their
peers in the cosmetics industry to adopt the same stance. They encourage
customers to boycott cosmetics companies that engage in animal testing.

While they have spoken out against animal testing for years, most of their efforts
have been focused on their own strict policy and avoiding animal testing. But it is
no longer enough for them to passively wait for animal testing to end. They
decided to put their money where their mouth is and now offer the LUSH Prize,
awarded annually. The 250,000 prize fund, the biggest prize in the alternative
testing sector, focuses pressure on safety testing for consumer products in a way
which complements projects which already address alternatives to the animal
testing of medicines and awards prizes for Science, Training, Lobbying, Public
Awareness, and Young Researchers. It is a way that everyone at LUSH, their
customers, and the wider public can become involved in the fight to end animal
testing.
 2) FRESH INGREDIENTS

Lush believes in making effective products from fresh, organic fruit and
vegetables, the finest essential oils and safe synthetics. Fresh is at the core of the
company. Fresh ingredients, fresh inventions, fresh campaigns and more. LUSH
inventors started making products by visiting farmer's markets and flower shops,
bringing their fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers back to their labs, and infusing
them into their newest inventions. LUSH even lists them in quantitative order on
every pot, bottle, sign, web page and in the LUSH Times.

Why not use a synthetic alternative to fresh ingredients? It's simple. Using whole,
fresh ingredients means you get the most effective product for your money.
Helen Ambrosen, product inventor and LUSH Co-founder said it best: "It would be
easier, but it wouldn't be as much fun! I could absolutely use synthetic
alternatives to create effects, but where would the artistry be? Journalists always
ask, "What makes it work? Is it vitamin E, vitamin A?" I always say, "It's the whole
thing." It's the vitality and the freshness of the whole ingredient that makes it
work."

The culmination of years of work by the product inventors, every ingredient they
use is listed in LUSHopedia, their very own ingredient encyclopedia.
 3) ETHICAL BUYING

LUSH had put an enormous amount of love and care into making their products,
so it's important to them to find ingredient suppliers that do the same. They want
to know where their ingredients come from and how theyre made. Its the
responsibility of LUSH Ethical Buying team to get out there to show how this
happens. Their buyers travel worldwide, personally visiting their suppliers to
trace the ingredients, to meet the growers and producers, and ensure care for the
environment and fair conditions for workers.

LUSH believe that what they buy should have a positive impact on the
community from which they are harvested. Buying from small-scale producer
groups affords LUSH the opportunity to drive positive change and form incredible
relationships with people all over the world.