Is Lush Cosmetics ethical?
Our research highlights some ethical issues with Lush, including environmental reporting, human rights and supply chain management. However, they score well in animal testing, social finance and company ethos.
Below we outline some of these issues. To see the full detailed stories, and Lush's overall ethical rating, please sign in or subscribe.
Campaigning and Gaza Solidarity
Lush campaigns on several areas, including animal rights, human rights and environmental protection, and has strong policies addressing politically controversial behaviour. For example, Lush is Fair Tax Mark accredited, a certification demonstrating that it pays its taxes.
Most recently in September 2025, Lush closed all its UK stores and website for a day in solidarity with Gaza. Lush said that the company had struggled “to find ways we can help whilst the Israeli government is preventing urgent humanitarian assistance from entering Gaza.”
The closure – which was estimated to cost the company £300,000 in lost sales – “also means that the UK Government is losing a day of tax contributions from Lush and our customers,” the company said. “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.”
Workers’ rights
Lush has generally strong policies on workers rights. For example, its code of conduct requires suppliers to ensure workers receive basic rights like the right to unionise and for the workplace to be free from discrimination.
Lush has also taken a strong approach to sectors where human rights abuses have been exposed. Following reports of child and forced labour in mica supply chains, for example, Lush stopped using the mineral in its products and started using synthetic mica, made from natural minerals. This is used as a substitute for plastic glitter.
Cutting packaging
Lush has taken some positive steps to address the use of plastic and packaging, for example, getting rid of packaging on many products.
The company estimates, for example, that it has saved nearly 6 million plastic bottles globally through selling solid shampoo bars.
When we checked Lush’s environmental policy, we found that, where Lush does use packaging, 90% (by weight) of the packaging material was recycled and that the company aimed to transition to 100% recyclable or compostable packaging (although it did not give a target date for this).
It also mentioned that the company's pots and bottles were made with 100% post-consumer recycled plastic, its carrier bags were made with 100% post-consumer recycled paper and gifts were wrapped in 100% recycled paper and protected with a biodegradable potato starch material rather than plastic.
Climate policies
Lush scores poorly in Ethical Consumer’s climate rating.
The company has outlined steps it has taken to address its emissions. For example, it discussed its use of renewable energy globally, its efforts to cut emissions from its packaging use, and using electric vehicles for its staff’s transport.
Unfortunately, though, the company does not transparently report on its emissions. When it was rated by Ethical Consumer in October 2023, it stated, “We are working on calculating our emissions from our very complex supply chain. Greenhouse gas emissions from the supply chain are still a big unknown, but we estimate it to be at least six times that of our operations.” As it has not published separate figures on emissions in its supply chain, by far the largest share, its reporting was not considered adequate.
The company also did not appear to have a target in line with international agreements – vital global goals to restrict global warming.
Palm oil
The mass production of palm oil has fuelled the destruction of rainforests, which leads to climate damaging emissions, as well as loss of biodiversity, particularly for orangutans, and human rights issues.
The Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil was set up in 2004 and is the world’s largest and most recognisable palm oil standard, with a stated aim to “make sustainable palm oil the norm”. However, the scheme is accused of everything from certifying plantations involved in child labour to enabling corporate greenwash. We have a separate article on palm oil which sets out the problems and our rating on this complex topic.
The ‘We Are Lush’ 2025 report states that from 2010 Lush has been replacing palm oil as an ingredient in its products. It is in the process of removing palm oil derivatives from all products and states that in 2024 it reduced the use of palm-derived ingredients by 10%.
However, not all the company's palm ingredients including derivatives were certified by the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil – the main certification body for the sector. It told Ethical Consumer in October 2023, “Lush still don't have confidence in the implementation of RSPO policies on the ground... We took the decision to continue to move away from palm kernel derivatives within our supply chain. Our Roadmap is to work through ‘product categories’ to reformulate and remove."
As the company continued to use palm oil and had not ensured that all of this was from certified sources, it scored poorly in Ethical Consumer’s palm oil rating.
Animal testing and animal products
Lush’s real ethical strength is in its approach to ending animal rights. The company only sells cruelty-free cosmetics. Their own products are not tested on animals and they will not buy any ingredient tested on animals since June 2007. The company also does not use suppliers involved in animal testing and provides training on alternative methods to suppliers.
Lush also actively campaigns for the ending of animal testing, for example through the Lush Prize. The prize awards £250,000 every two years to researchers and campaigners in the non-animal testing sector to help end animal testing.
Lush is a fully vegetarian company, since its founding in 1995. Most of its products are also vegan. However it does still use two animal products (beeswax and honey). It certifies nearly all its products with the Vegan Society and the Vegetarian Society.