Introducing Flame Fighters
Launching on 14th November, this limited-edition soap is raising funds for Indigenous and community-led volunteer fire brigades in the Amazon. Available in Lush stores and online, 75% of sales price (minus tax) will be donated to help provide emergency aid, strengthen volunteer fire brigades and aid prevention, reforestation and environmental education.
Scented with spicy clove bud oil and soft vanilla absolute for a warm and cosy scent. It contains Buriti Oil, cold-pressed from the fruit of the moriche palm in the Amazon. Full of antioxidants, this red oil is rich in oleic acids and is renowned for its conditioning and moisturising effects on the skin. Many species feed off the fruits of this palm tree, and it is traditional Indigenous food as well.
Ruth Andrade from Lush’s Earth care team, said: “This summer, devastating fires tore through Indigenous lands and primary forests – a lethal combination of criminal activity and record droughts fuelled by the Climate Emergency. Volunteer fire brigades, equipped with deep ancestral knowledge of their territories, are best placed to tackle this challenge. By purchasing this soap, Lush customers can help fund essential equipment, training and monitoring to support these brave forest protectors in their vital work!”
Forest fires are nothing new, but the intensity, size and number of forest fires in South America this year has been unprecedented. Unlike other forested areas around the world that evolved with regular, natural fires, the Amazon rainforest is a wet biome that did not evolve with exposure to fires.
- 11.2 million people have been affected in Brazil
- 10% of the area of Bolivia has burned this year*
- 34% of the area burned in Brazil is primary rainforest
- Over 460,000 fires in South America, this year alone*.
- In Brazil, from January to September 2024, 11.3 million hectares have burned in the Amazon – 150% increase on last year.*
On a global scale, the Amazon rainforest is an irreplaceable ecosystem with huge importance for the climate and biodiversity.
- Fires and deforestation reduce its capacity to absorb and store carbon, while releasing enormous quantities of carbon emissions*.
- The forest plays an important role in generating rainfall, fires reduce that capacity impacting weather far beyond South America*.
- Scientists warn that the Amazon is approaching a critical tipping point, beyond which the ecosystem may be unable to fully recover, transforming into a drier, savanna-like landscape*.
Home to 80% of all mammal endemic species – species that only exist there, and with a new species discovered every other day, the Amazon is essential for preserving Earth’s biodiversity*.
NOTES TO EDITOR
For further information or interview opportunities, please email lushpr@lush.co.uk
Sources
*https://terrabrasilis.dpi.inpe.br/queimadas/situacao-atual/situacao_atual/
*https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/17/climate/carbon-fires-forests-global-warming.html
*https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06970-0
*https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06970-0
*https://www.theamazonwewant.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/220717-SPA-Executive-Summary-2021-EN.pdf
12:11