After raising £76m, Lush discontinues Charity Pot to make way for new charitable giving streams.

At the end of September 2024, Lush’s main giving stream, Charity Pot, will be discontinued.

When Co-Founder & CEO Mark Constantine formulated and launched Charity Pot in April 2007, he wished that it would raise £1m for small charities, campaigning groups and other good causes. The aim was to donate small grants to the grassroots activists causing mischief and he envisioned creating absolute chaos if we managed to raise a million from Charity Pot.

Since then, it’s been the pot that’s done a lot and been the biggest contributor to Lush’s giving over the past 17 years, making up 75% of the £100m total raised, distributed across 17,000 grants. 

Lush’s Charitable Giving Team shares that Charity Pot in the UK&I has supported some dedicated and impactful grassroots groups campaigning on issues including:

• Local anti-fracking groups across the UK campaigning against the destructive practice of fracking,
• Groups campaigning for the divestment from fossil fuel companies and highlighting the links between extractivism and colonialism,
• Organisations defending the human rights and dignity of refugees and displaced people globally,
• The LGBTQI+ community counteracting prejudice, discrimination and hate crime while promoting policy advocacy, and solutions to representation & inclusion;
• Nonprofits addressing racial discrimination, including in policing and the criminal justice system,
• Hunt saboteurs using non-violent direct action that protects foxes and other wild animals, and exposing the persistence of hunting in the UK despite the ban on hunting with hounds,
• Animal rights activists campaigning against animal exploitation in all its forms.

Whilst Charity Pot will be leaving Lush’s shelves from the end of September 2024, campaigning and charity products will not be disappearing.

Following Lush reaching the significant milestone of over £100 million in donations, the business feels that this is the right time to reflect on charitable giving as a whole and assess the funding needed to meet the current challenges the world faces at this critical time.

Giving at Lush is now entering a new era – the biannual Prizes will continue, and we will continue to support human rights and social justice; animal rights and environmental protection through charitable products raising money for particular causes that are pertinent at any given time. And the product will reflect that cause.  An example of which is the Watermelon Slice soap (£6 for 100g), available in shops and online with 100% of the profits being donated to childhood mental health services in Palestine.

It’s giving …. Keystone products

This year, Lush also plans to launch ‘Keystone Products’, inspired by keystone species – the vital species that act as ecosystem engineers, regenerating habitats for other species.  Each Keystone product will raise money for a project in a priority landscape around the world, and we’ll have at least one for sale at any time.  The first Keystone Product launch will be announced soon. 

Notes to Editors:

To find out more about who Charity Pot in the UK&I has funded in the last few years: https://weare.lush.com/lush-life/our-giving/charity-pot-the-essential-guide-2/

About Lush:

Lush invents, manufactures and retails fresh handmade cosmetics.  A beauty company with a campaigning heart, Lush is passionate about direct action. It uses its stores around the world as a platform to shed light on little-known social and environmental issues.

High-res supporting imagery is available to view and download here.