Is the CEO of Lush crazy for taking the brand off social media?

Constantine and his board are reacting to research that shows how posts on social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, can damage young people’s physical and mental health—particularly teenage girls’, who make up Lush’s target demographic. It’s quite clear-cut to them—they want to set an example; they can’t say they run a caring brand if they participate in something cited as damaging to others. They also believe the time is right to withdraw from social platforms, given how much more anxiety the pandemic has brought their customers.

I spotted the story of Lush rejecting social media here, but knowing how much the media likes to exaggerate and misreport things, I visited Lush’s website. On any other site, I’d expect to see a smattering of social media logos/icons directing visitors to the platform in question, or even a social feed embedded in the site somewhere, but I couldn’t see anything on Lush’s website. No tweety-bird cartoon in the corner, no white ‘F’ in a blue circle, no multi-coloured camera icon. It seemed a little strange, if I’m honest, as you just expect to spot these things in either the header or footer of a site.

Though this move doesn’t seem to be a PR stunt, there’s no denying that Lush has received plenty of column inches in the past with the campaigns and causes it backs. One focused on the ‘Spycops’ scandal—this centred on undercover policemen forming relationships with women they were tasked with monitoring. Whilst Lush’s stance probably mirrored what a lot of people thought of the force’s actions at the time, for a brand to stick its neck out on something so controversial is a risky game. Lush received a barrage of criticism for becoming ‘involved’ with a real-world crisis that didn’t directly affect them; however, they also won some supporters who thought it brave of the company to state their viewpoint when every other brand in the universe is ‘vanilla’ about events affecting their consumers.

I think it’s refreshing to see a brand with character and commitment. I don’t personally shop in Lush as their products don’t appeal to me (and I hate their sales tactic of jumping on customers the moment they step over their threshold), but I have daughters who are making their way in the world and I fully agree that social media can be damaging to its users’ mental health.

If only the social platforms themselves recognised this and did more, but not every brand puts people before profits. For that, Lush, you should be saluted.