Refugee Action and Lush launch ‘Refugees Welcome’ high-street campaign

Lush and Refugee Action have teamed up to welcome refugees and asylum seekers to the UK, and counter the government’s racist anti-refugee language and legislation.

All the company’s 103 stores across the UK will feature a campaign window with a lightbox message that reads, “Wherever you’re from, however you got here, all refugees are welcome”. 

The word “Welcome” will also appear on the windows in Albanian, Arabic, Dari & Farsi, Kurdish, Spanish, Tigrinya, Pashto, Ukrainian and Burmese to represent languages from the countries where most refugees arriving in the UK are from.

The campaign – which will run from June 19 to 28, including Refugee Week – aims to build compassion and empathy for refugees and people seeking asylum.

Customers can buy a bath bomb in Refugee Action’s trademark green and blue with “Welcome” embossed on the outside, and a piece of paper inside with a QR code that takes people to the campaigns page on Refugee Action’s website. 

All of the money from the sales (minus VAT) of the Welcome bath bomb will be donated to Refugee Action, which provides services to people in the asylum system and those who have come to the UK via resettlement schemes, as well as supporting grassroots organisations up and down the country. 

In-store visitors can scan a series of QR codes on their phones that will lead to videos** where they can follow the journeys of three refugees: Hein from Burma, Monique* from the Caribbean, and Oksana from Ukraine. 

All Lush stores will also have postcards available for people to write welcome messages to refugees and people seeking asylum.

Ali Noyce, Head of Fundraising at Refugee Action, said:

“We are so excited about this partnership with Lush, which will raise the voices of refugees, highlight the horrors of the Government’s hostile environment, and raise crucial funds for Refugee Action’s work.

“The powerful stories shared by the three people who have fled persecution and war perfectly illustrate why we need a compassionate and welcoming environment for refugees in the UK.”

Andrew Butler, Lush Campaigns Manager, said:

“We believe that all people should enjoy freedom of movement across the world, and with this campaign we’re working with Refugee Action to build compassion and empathy for refugees and people seeking asylum.

“We will not stand quietly by as people fleeing war and persecution are scapegoated for failed government policies and cuts to social services. The language being used and the policies being enacted against refugees are deeply worrying and highly dangerous. The dehumanisation, lack of empathy, removal of basic human rights protections and ‘othering’ of people seeking safety in the UK should ring alarm bells for everyone. 

“It’s no coincidence that current and proposed laws seek to undermine the Refugee Convention that was championed by the British public and government after WWII. We need to do all we can to stop the UK sliding into authoritarianism, which is why we strongly oppose the hostile environment that is being used to persecute, marginalise and scapegoat refugees, and instead say ‘Wherever you’re from, however you got here, all refugees are welcome’.”

Notes to editors

*Not her real name.

**Visit the campaign landing page to preview the videos

Contact:

Colin Parker – colinp@refugee-action.org.uk

About Refugee Action
For more than 40 years Refugee Action has helped people who have survived some of the world’s worst regimes. We get them the basic support they need to live again with dignity. Then we help them build safe, happy and productive lives in the UK.
Visit www.refugee-action.org.uk

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