Green brands: Lush

Lush is a beauty brand rated as sustainable by 81% of respondents who had recently bought from the brand in our survey asking about sustainable brands.

Which? carried out a survey in February 2023 into member perceptions of sustainable brands. We asked members to rate how sustainable a brand was that they had bought from in the past two years, and then to give us their reasons why. We’ve then taken a further look at some of these brands to see whether the reality lives up to the perception.*

The top reasons given for Lush’s sustainability were it using natural/non-toxic ingredients (54%), recyclable or minimal packaging (47%), it being cruelty-free (36%) and offering refills/refillable products (36%).

We've looked in more detail at the sustainability initiatives and actions of beauty and toiletry brands Faith in Nature, Grüum, Lush and The Body Shop, as these were the brands that members viewed as sustainable in our survey, to dig into whether people's thoughts about the brands' sustainability records are backed up.

Read on to find out how Lush did, and what you need to know about sustainability issues in the beauty industry.

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Lush: in summary

It's worth bearing in mind that despite all brands having some inevitable shortcomings, the companies featured in this green brands guide have been selected by members as being more sustainable within their markets. 

These are generally brands doing better than average in their sector and should be recognised as such.

Who owns Lush?

Lush has been around since 1995 when it was started by six co-founders. It is based in Poole, Dorset, and is 10% employee-owned.

Lush and ingredients

Lush uses a mix of naturally derived and synthetic ingredients, though there are a number of wholly natural products such as its fresh face masks.

Its webpage on ingredients states that it uses parabens (a type of preservative) in some products but limits use to two types: methylparaben and propylparaben. Lush says that 90% of its products are self-preserving, meaning they don’t require any synthetic preservatives.

Lush doesn’t use phthalates or triclosan.

Lush and palm oil

Lush doesn’t use palm oil as an ingredient but derivatives are used in some of its surfactants and emulsifiers. 

Lush is committed to removing all palm oil from its products but says that changing all the bases for its ingredient is very costly and complex. It recently removed all palm oil derivatives from its soap range and its shampoo bars. The main remaining products that still contain palm oil are shower gels and bubble bars, which will have to be reformulated.

The palm oil that remains in its supply chain is mostly RSPO-certified according to Lush, but it doesn't use the logo on its products as the brand prefers to use its funds to work on removing palm oil from its supply chain and to pay for regenerative farming projects.

Scroll down for more information on palm oil in the beauty industry.

Lush and cruelty-free

Not strictly an issue of environmental harm but still very important to some consumers, animal welfare often goes hand in hand with other environmentally responsible behaviour.

Lush has never tested on animals and does not buy from any suppliers that test on animals. The issue forms a large part of the brand's ethos.

Animal testing for cosmetic products is banned in the UK and the EU, and it has been for some years. However, there are certain exceptions to this. The European regulation REACH can require animal testing to assess certain chemical hazards. It is possible that ingredients requiring this testing could be found in cosmetics.

Additionally, in the past a brand might have said it didn’t test on animals itself, but have sold its products in mainland China. Up until 2021, Chinese trade law required that all imported cosmetics sold in physical stores must be tested on animals before sale. Therefore those brands couldn't claim to be fully cruelty-free – to sell their products on the Chinese market they had to pay for animal testing in China. 

This has now been waived for most ordinary cosmetics, though some ‘special-use’ beauty products, such as sunscreens, must still be tested on animals. 

However, Lush doesn’t sell its products in China, which means it can stand by its cruelty-free claim.

The product range is 100% vegetarian and 95% vegan.

Lush and packaging

Lush sells a high proportion of 'naked' products, ie products without packaging. In fact, 66% of its range is made up of naked products such as soaps, shampoo bars and solid deodorants. Lush says that you would need 15 lorries' full of liquid shampoo bottles to transport the equivalent number of washes as one lorry of its shampoo bars.

Lush has some innovative packaging designs too. Its cork shampoo bar pots have been verified by the Carbon Trust as carbon positive because of cork’s ability to sequester carbon dioxide.

Its distinctive black pots are part of a closed loop recycling system in the style of a deposit return scheme. Customers who bring them back to store can receive 50p per item or a free fresh face mask per five packaging items returned. The black pots are made of recycled plastic, as are its clear bottles.

To find out more about refills and packaging, read our guide on how to buy refillable products.

Other sustainability information

Lush states it has plans to become carbon positive. In 2020 it invested in 6,000 hectares of degraded forest in Peru, regrowing native species and employing people to protect the forest from illegal logging.

Where it has choice it only uses a renewable energy supplier (Ecotricity).

It's in the process of calculating its emissions from its supply chain and has already calculated its UK operations emissions.

Why should we be worried about beauty products' impact on the environment?

Beauty products’ ingredients lists can be bafflingly long and difficult to interpret, but there are certain things to consider when making your choices.

Palm oil

It’s estimated that around 70% of beauty products contain palm oil. It acts as an emulsifier (holds oil and water together), surfactant (creates foam) and moisturiser.

But palm oil has also been linked with rainforest deforestation and habitat destruction. The constantly increasing demand for its use makes it particularly difficult to control how it is produced.

Products might list it as an ingredient, or may use ingredients derived from it. It has a huge list of pseudonyms – lauric and stearic acid being among the more common – which means it can be difficult to avoid. 

Look instead for brands that carry RSPO certification on their packaging or state that their palm oil is sustainably sourced.

The PalmOil Scan app scans barcodes to tell you about a brand’s palm oil commitment and whether it’s an RSPO member. WWF’s online Palm Oil Buyers scorecard can give you more information about a brand’s palm oil policy and how its performing.

If you want to go palm oil free, the Orangutan Alliance Palm Oil Free Seal can be found on some products. Its website also lists ingredient names that may have been derived from palm oil.

Biodegradability

Chemicals in beauty products can have negative impacts on the environment as well as human health. 

Anything found in the ingredients list of cosmetic or personal care products sold in the UK will have been approved as safe for human use. Though they may be restricted to certain amounts – this includes groups of chemicals like parabens. 

Some beauty brands may choose to avoid certain chemicals altogether, or have ranges that avoid the use of synthetic chemicals.

The biodegradability of ingredients used in cosmetics is an important consideration. They may end up being washed down the drain and treated at a water treatment plant – assuming water companies are dealing with it responsibly. But cosmetics may also be wiped off on cotton pads or wipes, which go in the bin. This means they could possibly end up in landfill (though much in the UK will be incinerated). 

Products need to be readily biodegradable in these environments to avoid environmental damage. But the reality is not everything fully breaks down. Synthetic ingredients, often derived from fossil fuels, can be particularly persistent.

Confusingly, the term ‘natural’ is not legally regulated. If using fully natural products is important to you, look for a certification label on the product. This will also increase the likelihood that the natural ingredients are sourced in a sustainable way.

Certified natural and organic cosmetics (the main logos you will see are COSMOS and NATRUE) and household cleaning products (the main logo is Soil Association) are assessed for ready biodegradability. Ingredients will have to break down in a specified time. Cradle to Cradle certification, while not an organic standard, focuses on the full life cycle of a product.

Read more about how chemicals break down in our waterways and how to buy water friendly cleaning products and toiletries.

Packaging

Packaging of beauty products is something to seriously consider when making your choice. According to the British Beauty Council, 95% of cosmetic packaging is thrown away. Items like shampoo and shower gel bottles can usually be recycled with household recycling, but some more complex packaging such as mascara wands and hand soap pumps are unlikely to be recycled. 

Brands that offer packaging-free options, closed loop recycling, refillable options or solid format products like shampoo bars should be commended.

Our research 

The brands that survey respondents could answer on were preselected based on a previous Which? survey carried out in November 2022 asking members to highlight brands they considered sustainable. 

Other beauty brands rated highly by members in our survey were Faith in Nature (91%), Gruum (86%) and The Body Shop (77%).

Find out more about what supermarkets are doing about the environment, how to buy second-hand online, or what makes a green energy supplier.