Lush turns its back on social media

In the same way that evidence against climate change was ignored and belittled for decades, concerns about the serious effects of social media are barely being acknowledged.

Lush has decided to address these serious issues now and to start by changing its own practices rather than waiting until others notice that there is actually a real problem.

According to Lush's company statement

Like so many teenagers have experienced before us, Lush has tried to come off social media, but our FOMO is vast, and our compulsion to use the various platforms means we find ourselves back on there, despite our best intentions.

So here we are again, trying to go cold (plant-based) turkey.

Having previously attempted this in 2019, our resolve has been strengthened by all the latest information from courageous whistleblowers, which clearly lays out the known harms that young people are exposed to because of the current algorithms and loose regulation of this new area of our lives.

“As an inventor of bath bombs, I pour all my efforts into creating products that help people switch off, relax and pay attention to their wellbeing. Social media platforms have become the antithesis of this aim, with algorithms designed to keep people scrolling and stop them from switching off and relaxing” says Jack Constantine, CDO and product inventor.

The statement continues

We wouldn’t ask our customers to meet us down a dark and dangerous alleyway – but some social media platforms are beginning to feel like places no one should be encouraged to go. Something has to change. We hope that platforms will introduce strong best practice guidelines, and we hope that international regulation will be passed into law. But we can’t wait. We feel forced to take our own action to shield our customers from the harm and manipulation they may experience whilst trying to connect with us on social media.

Lush will be signing out from Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat, until these platforms can provide a safer environment for their users.

“I’ve spent all my life avoiding putting harmful ingredients in my products. There is now overwhelming evidence we are being put at risk when using social media. I’m not willing to expose my customers to this harm, so it’s time to take it out of the mix”. added Mark Constantine OBE, cofounder, CEO and product inventor at Lush.

Lush has promised not to be completely anti-social, but will do all they can to find new ways to connect, to build better channels of communication elsewhere, as well as using the older tried and tested routes.

For now, the brand can still be found on Twitter and YouTube.