Cosmetics retailer Lush has closed all its UK shops, factories, and website in protest over the starvation crisis in Gaza. The company estimated losses of about £300,000 from the one-day closure on Wednesday.
Posters on shop windows and a statement on its website read: “Stop starving Gaza, we are closed in solidarity.” The flagship spa on London’s Oxford Street was marked as “temporarily closed” on Google Maps.
Co-founder Mark Constantine told LBC radio that while he supported the decision, “It would be nice to be able to pay for food to go into Gaza, rather than just sacrificing [profits].” The statement called on the UK government to end “death and destruction” and stop arms sales to Israel, noting that the government lost a day of tax contributions from Lush.
Lush, which produced 102 million products in 2024 with a turnover of £690 million, operates 869 stores globally. Its Watermelon Slice soap, a Palestine-focused fundraising product, has been the most successful single fundraising product in its history, with profits supporting mental health services for children in Gaza and the West Bank.
The company has a history of activism, including a 2018 #Spycops campaign and a 2021 boycott of some social media apps. However, it opposed a “Boycott Israel” poster on a Dublin store in October 2023, stating it did not represent the Lush ethos that “All Are Welcome. Always.” A spokesperson confirmed agency staff were paid for the closure day.
