Lush just turned its values into a full-window statement. For one day, the British cosmetics brand shut every UK shop, halted production at its factories, and took its website offline, replacing “add to basket” with a stark message: “Stop starving Gaza – we are closed in solidarity.” The pause was a deliberate disruption designed to force attention on a deepening humanitarian crisis, and to push Westminster to act.
On Wednesday, 3 September, Lush suspended UK trading across retail, manufacturing and e-commerce, with store windows and the homepage carrying the same solidarity message. Even the flagship Oxford Street spa appeared “temporarily closed” on maps. The company framed the move as a stand against starvation in Gaza, while apologising to customers for the inconvenience.
In a statement, Lush said many of its customers “share the same anxiety about the situation in Gaza” and called on the UK government to bring an end to “death and destruction,” including halting arms sales to Israel. It added that, while Lush was losing a day of takings, so too was the government losing a day of tax contributions from the company and its shoppers.
Co-founder Mark Constantine said the one-day closure would cost roughly £300,000. He backed the decision, while noting that “it would be nice to be able to pay for food to go into Gaza,” underscoring the brand’s preference for tangible relief alongside protest. Lush also confirmed staff would be paid during the shutdown.
In an interview with London’s LBC, Constantine said, “Something has to give, doesn’t it? We would like to point out, especially to our Government and to everyone else that you know we’re expecting them to do something.”
Lush has a track record of corporate activism. In 2024 it produced 102 million products on £690m turnover and operates hundreds of stores globally, yet continues to take public positions, from its past “#Spycops” campaign to stepping back from certain social platforms over mental-health concerns. Its Watermelon Slice soap, funding mental-health services for children in Gaza and the West Bank, has become the brand’s most successful single fundraising product.
Whether you see it as activism or accountability, Lush translated values into a real-world pause, one felt on high streets, in supply chains, and on screens.
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