Lush switches from Plastic to Paper
By Karina | July 30, 2008
Jenn mentioned a while back that Lush had enthusiastically switched from plastic based tape to paper based tape. I have a new Lush rumor! I was in the shop last week with a friend and I carried the massage bar I was buying to the counter and asked them to wrap it in paper, rather than take a small plastic bag to put it in. The guy at the counter told me that they were just told internally to expect new packaging for their in-store individual options – recycled paper bags instead of plastic!
While I was writing this post, I took a look at the Naked Truth page and Lush says:
In 2007 and into 2008, we are renewing our commitment to eliminating unnecessary and environmentally unfriendly packaging wherever possible. In our 69 North American LUSH stores, over 58% of our products are sold unpackaged, or as we like to call it “naked”.
And you know what a pain I can be. At this point I stop reading and think: but what about all the tiny plastic bags! that you package things in! immediately after the sale and while I’m reaching into my hand bag to pay for everything! Luckily Lush is paying attention, because on the same page they say:
But, we know there’s a lot more to be done and we’re working on it every day! When you purchase a naked product in our stores, we wrap them up just enough so they can be safely transported to your home. We also encourage our customers to bring their own re-useable containers for things like body butters, solid cleansers, shower jellies and massage bars and of course to bring their own shopping bags too.
I hope this means that recycled paper bags are near! I can’t wait until there aren’t bunches of tiny plastic bags streaming out of the Lush stores.
Lush does have a bunch of other green press releases, if you’re interested.
- Go Green product line inspired by environmental activist Rebecca Lush.
- Tips to Green your beauty products, including attention to the type and number of ingredients, packaging, locally sourced, etc.
- Our old friend the Bag Monster shows up at a Lush in Toronto. Check out a video here!
- They talk about their sources for ingredients here.
- And, one of our favorite subjects here: corporate buyouts. Lush comments on it’s firm stance on staying independent.
I’m kind of slow on the buying of fancy bath supplies lately, but I will say that learning all of this about Lush (plus the news that they’re turning away from SLS) makes me feel even better about supporting them when I do need a delicious (though heavily fragranced) bath care item.
What is your favorite green beauty supply company?
Topics: Home | 8 Comments »
I do still love Lush, though I haven’t bought anything from them in a long while– their facial scrub which I had used for years just kind of stopped working for me, and now I find their fragrances a bit overwhelming. At this point, I don’t have a favorite beauty supply company, which makes me a little sad! We all need a girly body treat sometimes, but I don’t really have a place to go when I need mine. Straight-up baking soda just isn’t sexy, you know?
I feel exactly the same way! The olive oil regimen isn’t that sexy either!
Y’all know I love Lush…its my one true “girly” indulgence (though my husband likes their stuff too). When I walk in the door, the staff cheer, knowing that I not only adore the staff, but spend a few bucks there. I’ve been bringing back those little plastic bags each time I go to the shop for awhile now – its always bugged me, too, that they offer “naked” products, then slip them into plastic.
When I was in the shop this week, they also confirmed the future switch to paper product bags, as I was paying for my new shampoo bar packaged in the most forlorn, beat up baggie they’d yet seen. Hooray for more “tiny choices” from Lush!
i, too, like to dabble in the land of pampering products, but admittedly i haven’t taken a jaunt in awhile. in addition to lush i’ve enjoyed products from lunaroma, a business owned by a friend’s sister: http://www.http://www.lunaroma.com/. I’ve never had to get things shipped, as my friend often brings items back for me when he visits his sis.
this is great- thank you for bringing to my attention a whole new tiny choice that I won’t mind enacting! cutting down on bringing in packaging, even if it’s recyclable, is one of my main goals.
my indulgence is Aveda hair products. maybe not as cool as Lush, but still a really good product. and i just LOVE how it makes my hair look & feel.
they use mostly post-consumer plastics to make their containers – all of which can be recycled.
they give a nice blurb on their webpage
and it looks like they are starting a plastic cap recycling program. interesting stuff. :)
i love the idea of lush, and i’ve had flings with their products, but as the rest of my life gets purer and purer my system gets more and more sensitive to the ghastly synthetic fragrances they douse everything with. we have a lush store here in san francisco and i can’t even walk on that side of the block or my whole respiratory system gets irritated. so sad when there are so many lovely essential oils that would work instead!
i love grateful body. love love love it, as does my skin. astonishing stuff: http://gratefulbody.com/
[...] posted over the summer that I’d heard a LUSH RUMOR: that they would be dropping the use of plastic bags all together. I think it’s really [...]