All are welcome, always

All Are Welcome, Always shapes everything we do. From how we treat our customers, to how we support our staff. We are committed to fostering a workplace and retail experience that is inclusive, welcoming, and representative of the diverse world around us. We believe that people should be employed, supported and promoted based on their skills, abilities and potential. We know diverse teams are stronger teams, they spark innovation and creativity, values that are central to the way that Lush does business. The ‘welcome’ comes with the expectation that everyone respects the values that Lush represents and the diverse identities within our community, regardless of personal beliefs.

At Lush we seek to embed inclusion throughout the business and some examples of this include: 

• All Lush employees are expected to complete our Respect at Work training and abide by the policy. This training is compulsory and covers topics such as unlawful discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment, bullying, victimisation, microaggressions and violence towards any of our employees, customers or visitors in the workplace.
• Policies that actively support employees with a range of lived experiences, background and identities. Examples of this include our extended parental leave policy and our gender affirming care policy. 
• Mentorship programmes that connect our Community Network Chairs, see below, to leaders within the business. The program builds confidence and creates pathways for individuals to grow within the business. It is especially focused on uplifting underrepresented voices and fostering a culture of allyship and opportunity in an organic and ‘Lush’ way. 

We recognise that inclusion is a journey and not a destination. By further embedding the principle of All Are Welcome, Always, we can work towards our ED&I goals everyday.

Lush Diversity Survey

Our most recent Diversity Survey in 2024 had a participation rate of just 16% and therefore we do not have a complete picture of the diversity within our business. This highlights several areas that could be affecting employee engagement, including lack of trust, survey fatigue, poor communication or our recent data breach. Understanding who makes up Lush is vital when shaping policies, setting targets and measuring progress to hold ourselves accountable. We are committed to increasing participation in future surveys and aim to:

• Better communicate the purpose of the survey and its impact, and explain how Lush will use this information to inform change. 
• Build trust with our colleagues, making sure we have robust platforms that are easy to use and give us the data that we need. 
• Engage in great story telling and follow through on actions we have taken. Even if the change is small, it is worth sharing. 
• Involve the Community Networks and the new We Are Lush Champions. Having more people involved with the promotion of the survey will increase participation in the future. 

Community Networks

The Lush Community Networks are safe spaces for colleagues to connect through shared interests, life experience and identities. Community Networks work in partnership with the business to create a more inclusive environment for everyone. 

We currently have 6 Community Networks: 

1. Disability and Chronic Illness, 
2. Family Support, 
3. The Global Majority: Race & Ethnicity, 
4. LGBTQIA+, 
5. Menopause and 
6. Neurodiversity. 

Each Community Network is a place to connect and to share lived experience and joy. Here is a testimonial from a member of the Community Networks: 

The Lush Community Networks were introduced as part of the company’s 100 day plan in 2020. Originally we had 8 Community Networks but the decision was made to combine some of these which has increased engagement across the networks and allowed them to have a more intersectional demographic. 

In August 2024, our data protection team approved the inclusion of employees that did not have access to a Lush email address to be able to join the Lush Community Networks with a personal Gmail account. This has made a huge difference in the numbers after the digital divestment (find out more in the Digital Ethics Principle), and it is closely monitored by the ED&I Lead and our payroll teams. Below, you can see below the breakdown of the Community Networks. 

Since August 2024, membership has grown by 28%. These networks continue to grow in influence and engagement, shaping our culture from the inside out. Currently around 12% of our UK employees are members of at least one Community Network group, the UK average for these sorts of groups (Employee Resource Groups) is around 8%. 

Co-Create

A few years ago, the Lush co-founders realised that their knowledge of festive occasions and cultural celebrations didn’t extend much beyond the big ranges our company has come to be known for, such as Christmas and Halloween. They wanted more customers to see themselves reflected and represented on the shop shelves. This is when Co-Create came to be. 

Co-Create is an initiative that works to bring new minds, voices and cultures into the product creation process. People within the company are given the opportunity to come together and design product ranges that represent their cultural or religious celebrations, with the aim to connect to more customers. 

The process begins with a callout, which is sent around the Lush globe, inviting employees to submit designs and ideas for products and join a focus group. The only two requirements for applicants are that they celebrate the holiday themselves and they work for Lush. Once the ideas are collected, the focus group takes shape and our Project Lead communicates with the relevant teams at HQ to invent, upscale, and Co-Create the products, ensuring each collection is authentic and truly represents the people and values behind it. 

Co-Create have worked on many ranges since the project’s inception 3 years ago, representing celebrations and holidays that include Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Hanukkah, Día De Muertos, Diwali and St Patrick’s Day, with more coming soon.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Bath Bombs

In response to the Trump administration’s rollback of DEI programs across the U.S. federal government in late January 2025, Lush took a stance to show its commitment by renaming Thermal Waves, Sakura and American Cream Bath Bombs to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The simple but clear action of renaming these products affirms our support and belief in the value of diversity, equity and inclusion. We have now rolled this rename out to all Group markets. 

“Diversity, equity and inclusion are being treated as dirty words. We have a problem with that, and not just because we are a soap company.” 

Hilary Jones, Lush Global Ethics Director.

Working in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the USA right now is particularly challenging due to increasing political polarisation and legislative pushback against ED&I initiatives. In some states, programmes are being defunded or restricted, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty and resistance. 

Lush is a campaigning company that has always stood for taking action. As a business we believe we have struck the right balance. By changing the name of these products we have made a principled statement and protected our employees within the USA.

Gender Affirming Care at Work Policy

At Lush, people are at the heart of what we do, and this May (2025) we launched the Gender Affirming Care at Work Policy in the Netherlands, UK and Ireland, with our other markets to follow. This policy allows our trans and non binary colleagues peace of mind by providing a clear policy on work place support, including name and pronoun changes, transitioning leave and access to facilities. The policy includes guidance for line managers, time off for appointments, and practical steps to ensure a respectful and affirming environment.

It was essential that we work with the LGBTQIA+ Community Network and the Trans community more specifically when creating this policy to ensure it truly reflected their lived experiences, needs and priorities. Centering their voices helped to build an inclusive framework that goes beyond compliance to provide meaningful and affirming support. The feedback from our employees has been overwhelmingly positive. Staff feel safe, seen and heard.