Sustainable Packaging Practices at Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics

The hallmark of the brand was its passion for fresh and natural handmade products. It made products from natural ingredients (including fruits and vegetables), even ones that were rarely used in cosmetics. The colors, shapes, sizes, and aromas of the products were such that anyone could mistake them for an edible item. The names of the products too were unconventional. For instance, the company had a skin conditioner called 'Buffy the Backside Slayer'and a soap named 'Demon in the Dark'. The products were heaped on wooden tables as in an old-fashioned delicatessen.⁶ The products had minimal packaging or no packaging at all. Some products were even shaped like huge cakes and cut and priced by weight.

Experts felt that Lush was a cult brand that differentiated itself from other retailers of beauty products by its innovative products, superior customer service, unconventional marketing approach, and uncompromising ethical stance.

In 2007, in addition to the 'Get Naked'campaign, the company announced that the company would use popcorn as loose fill for packaging the products meant to be shipped to its mail order customers. Some experts considered this as a packaging innovation. Analysts noted that companies were trying to move toward sustainable packaging, but it was evident that packaging could not be done away with altogether...