Surge in support for Lush following Gaza solidarity act
Stephen Price
Cosmetics giant Lush has received a surge in support following the closure of its stores yesterday, with many praising its actions and promising to ‘stock up’ from the business upon its reopening today.
All Lush stores across the UK closed yesterday (Wednesday 3 September), along with its online platforms and factories, in solidarity with Gaza.
Many on social media have committed to supporting the brand, making calls for others businesses and those with platforms to speak out against Israel’s war on the famine-struck location in occupied Palestine.
One of the products receiving widespread attention is the company’s watermelon slice soap which raises money for charities in Gaza.
They write: “Due to the unprecedented number of civilians losing limbs in Gaza, Palestine, 75% of proceeds from this soap will go to funding medical services, including charities that are gearing up to provide prosthetic limb services to adults and children.”
With over 13 million followers, Instagram account eye.on.palestine wrote: “In a world where companies often sacrifice morals for profit, this stands as a striking example of corporate solidarity with the Palestinian people.
“We encourage you and other businesses to consider similar actions. Ultimately, the form of protest that is truly heard is the restriction of capital, even if only for a day.”
Humaira-a wrote: “Well done Lush for making this statement. May your profits go through the roof! I’ll certainly be buying more of your products.”
Yearoncollective wrote: “We should all shop there to help them with their losses today ! Well done @lush”
While another follower added: “Time to stock up on my favourite products! All my respect.”
Statement
Sharing a statement on their website yesterday (3 September), the cosmetics brand which has stores in Cardiff, Swansea and Carmarthen, wrote: “Across the Lush business we share the anguish that millions of people feel seeing the images of starving people in Gaza, Palestine. Like the rest of the world, we struggle to find ways we can help whilst the Israeli government is preventing urgent humanitarian assistance from entering Gaza.”
“One thing Lush can currently send into Gaza is our love and a strong message that we stand in solidarity. This will take the form of halting business-as-usual by shutting our UK shops, website and factories for one day on Wednesday 3rd September 2025, with our shop windows displaying the message STOP STARVING GAZA – WE ARE CLOSED IN SOLIDARITY.”
View this post on Instagram
“Providing our customers with the very best service is ingrained into everything we do at Lush, so shutting our shops is not an easy decision – we ask for forgiveness from any customers we inconvenience should they come to us on 3rd September and find us closed.
“However, we know that many of our customers share the same anxiety about the current situation in Gaza. Our fundraising soap, Watermelon Slice, has been the most successful single issue fundraising product in the history of Lush, indicating how strongly our customers feel and we are grateful to have been able to raise funds towards child mental health support in Palestine. We now plan to make this soap available again, with the funds going to medical services, including charities that are gearing up to provide prosthetic limb services to adults and children injured in Gaza.
“Whilst Lush is losing a day of takings, this also means that the UK Government is losing a day of tax contributions from Lush and our customers. 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 UK.
“In Peace and Solidarity,
“LUSH”
The statement added: “LUSHNB: Lush trades in over 50 countries, but was originally founded in the UK. With this in mind it feels important that we lift our voice first from here in the UK, 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.”
Ethics
From its humble beginnings in Poole, Dorset – where the original High Street store, at number 29, remains, now with its own spa – the company has stores and manufacturers worldwide, including a major manufacturing hub in Poole, and celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2025.
Part of the company’s success is down to the fact that, in the 1990s, it was somewhat unique in its approach to using natural, sustainable ingredients to make its fresh beauty products.
Priding itself on using natural products, Lush is at the forefront of fighting for a better world, having never tested on animals, and uses its platform to fight for human, animal and environmental justice as part of its everyday operations.
Speaking to Great British Life earlier this year, one of its co-founders wrote about the future: “We’re supporting people that are making a difference, we’re campaigning and giving money to grassroots causes, to those that are making a difference to the environment and animals, and we’re making a difference to the high street.
“Hopefully we’ll keep leading the way in certain things and bringing causes to the public’s attention. We’re still supporting the LGBTQ+ community. Everyone is welcome at Lush.
“We hope that Lush continues to be all things to all people, while trying to leave the world Lusher than we found it.”
Gaza
The world’s leading association of genocide scholars has declared that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
A resolution passed by the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) states that Israel’s conduct meets the legal definition as laid out in the UN convention on genocide.
Across a three-page resolution, the IAGS presents a litany of actions undertaken by Israel throughout the 22-month-long war that it recognises as constituting genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
On Monday 1 September, Gaza’s Ministry of Health said that 63,557 people had been killed and 160,660 injured during the war so far. The ministry’s numbers are widely considered reliable and do not distinguish between civilians and fighters.
In August, the UN-backed food monitor, the IPC, confirmed that famine was taking place in parts of Gaza. Israel is accused of causing the famine through ongoing restrictions on food and medical aid entering Gaza.
Show your support in store or at www.lush.com and purchase the watermelon soap here.
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Well done Lush, restoring my faith in corporate UK. The genocide in Gaza is glaringly obvious, we don’t need experts telling us it is so. For our government and other Western governments not to jump on the Israeli Government from a great height is unforgivable. It is a failure of humanity that will never be forgiven.
True, agreed.
May Allah bless them for this beautiful gesture. Thank you.
Are they donating all profits from this popularity surge or just from one product?
Anything that amplifies the evil of this genocide and ethnic cleansing by an ungodly zionist government is a beautiful gesture.
And a nice Christmas bonus for mgmt.
Sometimes its not all about money. Maybe for some though.
So donate all the extra profits from this to a charity such as MSF that’s actually helping Palestinians on the ground. It’s grotesque to profit from their plight.
It’s more grotesque to murder them and steal their land. Why are you not condemning the genocide and ethnic cleansing of a semitic Palestinian population and their homeland so that greedy settlers can invade their homes?
But a business profiting from it is fine?
The murderous intent of an evil zionist government is the worst this planet has ever seen.
But a business profiting from it is fine?
So is the murdering of innocent semitic Palestinians okay in your mind? How do you you compare money profit compared to the lives of children and their families?
well said
Appreciated.
A very clever move by lush. They knew this would trigger the awful people of the UK and that they’d instantly start throwing tantrums on social media.
The gammons have probably saved them around half a million on PR by raging.
Genius.
Why are insulting the UK people?
They’re not insulting them, it’s an old PR trick of using something that sparks anger to massively increase on line hits.
Every angry emoji, thumbs down or comment counts as a hit. Unfortunately most people don’t realise they’re promoting what they actually hate.
You said “awful people of the UK”. Why?
Congratulations to Lush for a fantastic PR exercise. You can’t beat a bit of virtue signalling to get a whole heap of free publicity. Interesting they chose to close on a Wednesday when there aren’t many people on the highstreet. They clearly designed this to minimise their immediate losses while allowing enough time for the story to build in time for Saturday when a whole heap of gullible folk will walk in the door and Lush will more than recoup their losses. Without a doubt their takings for the week as a whole will be higher as a result of… Read more »
This stunt was beautiful and it sends a message of hope to the suffering and murder and ethnic cleansing of a semitic Palestinian population. May Allah bless them and curse the evil zionist government.
Yes, I agree, Amir. I think the British Jews on this forum are the only ones here who claim that Lush is in some way or another trying to profit on the Palestinian situation. How are they profiting off of it when 100 percent of the proceedings of the sales go to Palestine. The excuses that they come up with are nonsensical and stupid. They also have no proof that every single customer that buys that that water melon soap for the Palestinian cause are suddenly going to buy other products from Lush, just because they sell them. Lush has… Read more »
Very nice, thank you
But He hasn’t. Israel has been winning on all fronts as I pointed out before.
When beautiful Jews in B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel call out the genocide in Ghazza from within Zion, then the curtains of the evil stench that surrounds the zionist government is lifting with Allah’s will. When an organisation such as thr International Association of Genocide Scholars — which has around 500 members worldwide, including a number of Holocaust experts calls out this genocide in Ghazza, the world is opening its eyes and awakening.
Good for Lush, I am definitely buying.