Fighting Animal Testing
OUR CORE ETHIC
We have been fighting against animal testing since before we opened our first shop, and the fight continues today. Animal testing is poor science and its results are irrelevant for humans.
Instead, we test our products for safety and effectiveness on human volunteers – real people. We also use in vitro test methods, using human cell-cultures and microbiology.
Lush do not test on animals, do not use materials that contain animal derivatives that are unsuitable for vegetarians and only buy raw materials from companies that are not involved in the use of, or commission the use of, animals for testing and have no plans to do so in the future. We believe that animal testing is not acceptable. We recognise that customer safety is of importance but that this can be assured without the use of animals.
We will not knowingly purchase ingredients from suppliers that have conducted, commissioned or been party to animal testing after our fixed cut-off date 1st June 2007, unless the supplier commits to conducting no further animal tests in the future, and to using acceptable in-vitro alternatives. In-vitro refers to the technique of performing a given procedure in a controlled environment outside of a living organism.
Whilst we recognise the unavoidable exception of UK and EU REACH legislation (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation & Restriction of Chemicals), Lush wishes to continue to encourage suppliers to test for safety using non-animal testing methods and to fund the development of non-animal test methods.
We have built Lush from day one using this policy – and we believe this shows that it is possible to invent, manufacture and bring to the market an entire range of products without any involvement in animal testing. Our founders launched this policy in June 1993, whilst still running their previous company, Cosmetics To Go. So when they started Lush in 1995, it began life using this policy and has stuck to it ever since.
Since Lush started in 1995 our animal testing policy has been that we will never conduct animal tests on our finished products and will only purchase ingredients from companies that do not test on animals. In 2013 we were delighted when the EU Cosmetics Directive came into full force, preventing the manufacture and marketing of animal tested cosmetics within Europe. As a company that operates in 40 countries, we would like to see such strong legislation in every region, not just the EU – and we promise to never stop campaigning until animal testing is a thing of the past, not just in some countries but worldwide.
100%
of products tested on humans, not animals
