An Open Letter to LUSH

Dear Lush,


Had I written this letter a few short months ago, I would have been singing your praises. You make the most delicious smelling, what I thought were natural, handmade beauty products. I have literally spent thousands (maybe even tens of thousands) of dollars on your products since becoming a Lushie only 4 short years ago. I swear by Cynthia Sylvia for my course, wavy hair and Big for the times I need to remove product build up and have amazing shine. I recently discovered the wonders of Dark Angels for my newly blemish prone skin. The scent of Olive Branch makes me happy and nostalgic.


This was all until I learned to read, REALLY read, labels. Until I got to know which ingredients in cosmetics and food were no-nos and even MORE dangerous during pregnancy. Even then, I figured my "Earth-friendly" LUSH products would surely be safe - environmentalist hippies don't put harmful chemicals all over their bodies, right?! Well... I guess I wrongfully assumed that a company who claims to care so much about the environment that they go out of their way to get "sustainably produced" materials would care about the environment (and health of their customers) enough to not put harmful chemicals into products that are eventually going to end up in the water supplies (after spending a significant amount of time on the skin of human beings).


Ok, so you're probably wondering what chemicals I am complaining about (at least, I hope you are wondering and that you're not perfectly aware of the dangerous garbage in your products)... Let's start here - a database trusted by most of the beauty community that rates companies, products and ingredients for safety.         Lush gets a pretty bad rating for a supposedly "green" company. Now, let me step back for a second and be fair:


I can't find anywhere on your site where you claim to be "All Natural", "Organic" or "Healthy". However, here are some misleading (at best) tidbits taken directly from your website (pages linked to text and italicized emphasis is mine):

• We believe in making effective products from fresh, organic* fruit and vegetables, the finest essential oils and safe synthetics.
  

• We invent our own products and fragrances. We make them fresh by hand using little or no preservative (emphasis mine) or packaging, using only vegetarian ingredients, and tell you when they were made. 
  

• At LUSH, we believe in protecting people, animals and the planet. 

• The core of our philosophy is based on the highest levels of ethical standards with the lowest possible impact on the environment.
  

• We choose to give our love (and money) to suppliers that respect the environment, as well as the animals and people living there. (hey LUSH, who supplies your parabens?)

• As we share our water with the entire planet, we feel that it is a precious resource. With only 326 million cubic miles of water on the earth, the decreasing amounts of access to quality fresh water is what bothers us most. (So you want people using harmful chemicals in the bath/shower to dump those chemicals into the water supply?)

Let's get to the specific ingredients, shall we? I link back to your statements on said ingredients.



Parabens (including methylparaben and propylparaben): I find this part of your lame explanation for using this ingredient quite amusing - " They are used globally and are permitted by every world health authority (500 independent safety studies have been carried out over the decades). Scare-mongering ‘studies’ into their potentially negative effects have now been widely debunked. " Did you know that aspartame, for example, has been proven unsafe in studies time and time again, but those studies are either not permitted to submit their results or can't get sufficient funding because of corporate monopolies and influence on the FDA? Regardless, here is some of the REAL info on parabens (there is a reason why so many companies can use "Paraben-free" as a major selling point for their products and why companies like Sephora specifically allow you to search for paraben free products)...

• Most recently, a study was done that found parabens in 99% of breast cancer patient. 99% 
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jat.1786/abstract

• Endocrine disruption, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Biochemical or cellular level changes - http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/703937/METHYLPARABEN/ 
  
• Intact parabens found in breast cancer tumors: http://www.eves-best.com/the-danger-of-parabens.htm 
  
• Breast cancer, eye and skin damage, male reproductive harm (with cited sources):  http://www.livestrong.com/article/21581-dangers-methylparaben/
  
• http://website.lineone.net/~mwarhurst/parabens.html 
  

You also state "Parabens occur naturally in some fruits and vegetables, including blueberries." Many "harmful" chemicals are found in nature, some that are equally if not MORE harmful in their natural form and some that are perfectly benign in nature because they are bound. Take cyanide for example - found in such natural items as apple seeds and apricot kernels. Cyanide on its own is HIGHLY toxic even in small amounts, however, when found in seeds of fruit, it is bound by other elements and is perfectly safe to consume. See more about Laetrile and B17 here. To make a long story short - arguing that it must be safe because it's found in blueberries and blueberries are safe is a complete logical fallacy.




Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate - Again, there is a reason why "Sulfate-free" is a huge selling point with cosmetics!

• Sodium lauryl sulfate is used throughout the world for clinical testing as a primary skin irritant
  
•  - http://www.healthy-communications.com/slsmostdangerousirritant.html
  
• Carcinogenic nitrosamines can form in the manufacturing of sodium lauryl sulfate or by its inter-reaction with other nitrogen-bearing ingredients within a formulation utilizing this ingredient. -  http://www.jasoncosmetics.com/sodium_lauryl_sulfate.html 
  
• Common contamination during processing with carcinogens -  http://www.greenwala.com/channels/eco-beauty/blog/13312-Sodium-Laureth-Sulfate-Dangers
  
• The US Federal Food and Drug Administration has encouraged manufacturers to remove SLS as an ingredient, although to-date there are no federal regulations to reinforce the removal of SLS. -  http://www.earthturns.com/Chemical-Free-Sodium-Lauryl-Sulfate-a/156.htm 
  

Perfume/Parfum: Going to be short and sweet about this one. Listing this in ingredients is a common way to hide over 3000 synthetic chemicals http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/health/science/toxics/fragrance-and-parfum/. The FDA doesn't force listing certain ingredients that scent the item so that companies can "protect" proprietary scent blends (sounds like a load of eau de poo poo to me). Why not just be 100% transparent, LUSH? Or would you rather your hippie-dippy customers not know that you are dumping environmentally unsafe chemicals into your products? I see no other reason to hide what is used to fragrance your items.




Linalool/Limonene: These are a little harder to find info for. You say on your website that they are found naturally in essential oils, but if that were the case with your products, why list them individually instead of just listing the essential oil? Is it mandatory to list these? If so, why? Are you adding additional, so that it must be listed separately? Forgive me, but your record of non-transparency precedes you, so I have a hard time assuming you're listing these for the purpose of transparency because they are known allergens. Here is some of the info I did find:

•   Linalool - Found in hand and Vaseline lotion, shampoo, bar soap, dishwashing liquid, laundry detergent, shaving products and nail enamel remover, Linalool is a type of narcotic. It has been shown to cause respiratory problems and disorders of the central nervous system. Results from animal testing indicated that Linalool is poisonous to bees and other animals, as it diminishes heart and respiratory activity.   https://www.facebook.com/notes/hannd-picked-organics/dangerous-chemicals-101-toxic-chemicals-in-lotions-shampoos/112879405420233 
  
• Linalool: A narcotic that causes CNS disorders and respiratory disturbances, which, in animal testing, have led to death.  http://www.naturallifemagazine.com/0608/softener.htm 
  
• LIMONENE (in: perfume, cologne, disinfectant spray, bar soap, shaving cream, deodorants, nail color and remover, fabric softener, dishwashing liquid, air fresheners, after shave, bleach, paint and varnish remover) - Carcinogenic. "Prevent its contact with skin or eyes because it is an irritant and sensitizer." "Always wash thoroughly after using this material and before eating, drinking, ...applying cosmetics. Do not inhale limonene vapor."                             LINALOOL (in: perfume, cologne, bar soap, shampoo, hand lotion, nail enamel remover, hairspray, laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid, vaseline lotion, air fresheners, bleach powder, fabric softener, shaving cream, after shave, solid deodorant) - Narcotic. ..."respiratory disturbances" ... "Attracts bees." "In animal tests: ataxic gait, reduced spontaneous motor activity and depression ... development of respiratory disturbances leading to death." ..."depressed frog-heart activity." Causes CNS disorder. http://www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/hrfragrance.htm 

The parabens alone are enough to make me stop using LUSH products. Sadly, I must now throw away my large half-full bottle of Cynthia as well as my almost brand new container of Lemony Flutter. I am going to really, really miss my $10 bubble bar/bath bomb combo baths, but they have gone from a relaxing bit of luxury to a toxic soup in which I soak my vulnerable body. I refuse to use even your products without questionable ingredients, as a matter of principle. That means I am going to be throwing away over $500 worth of Lush products, including a never used block of henna, various soaps, scalp oil, shampoos, lotions, toner and various lip products. I feel really betrayed LUSH, but it's not your fault, I have no one to blame but myself. Had I known 4 years ago what I know now, I never would have made that first $200 purchase that turned me into a $100+/month Lushie. 


I sincerely hope that you start spending half as much time actually caring about the health of your customers and the environment as you do coming up with marketing gimmicks based on those "principles" and posting your cause of the week. By the way, most of the items above are tested on animals, so you really can't call any of the many, many products containing them "cruelty-free". Though, I would certainly rather these things be tested on lab rats than my unborn child.


Sincerely,
Trbobitch