LUSH bans the use of plastic water bottles

Cosmetics retailer LUSH bans the use of plastic water bottles

-      National campaign to reduce unnecessary plastic consumption  -

Each year 8 billion bottles and cans are thrown into landfill or littered in Australia.* This alarming statistic is one that high street retailer, LUSH Cosmetics hopes to challenge next week as it launches a national campaign encouraging Australians to recycle and refill their water bottles instead of purchasing more unnecessary plastic. From the 17^th until the 23^rd of February 2014 LUSH is partnering with environmental conservationist group, TAKE 3 to raise awareness about the impact plastic has on the environment, our health and wildlife.

Australians spend over half a billion dollars on bottled water every year. Not only is bottled water on average 2000 times the price of regular tap water,* it is also a large contributor  to environmental damage globally. By choosing tap water over bottled water, people are choosing to care for oceans and wildlife, as well as their own personal health and the right to water without paying excessive amounts for it.

From the 17^th February 2014, single-use plastic bottles will not be used by any staff member in LUSH’s 26 Australian retail stores, as well as the LUSH kitchen and head office.

LUSH will also be turning its stores into official refill stations, encouraging people to refill their water bottles for free as opposed to purchasing more unnecessary plastic.

Customers will be able to purchase a limited edition campaign drink bottle (RRP $15.95) with all profits donated to TAKE 3.

Throughout the campaign, LUSH’s eight flagship store windows will display 266 plastic water bottles in fishing nets, representing the amount of bottles and cans littered or thrown into landfill each second in Australia. LUSH staff will be educating customers in-store and encouraging them to take three simple steps of action to help reduce unnecessary plastic consumption.

1.    Refill – Purchase a reusable drink bottle and refill it in any LUSH store.

2.    Take 3 – Anywhere people go, they can take 3 pieces of litter away and dispose of it thoughtfully.

3.    Sign – Sign a petition asking for a 10 cent refund on beverage containers to reduce litter and double recycling rates across Australia.

Image by: Ferdi Rizkiyanti

Tim Silverwood, co-founder of TAKE 3 says,

"Over 6 million tonnes of trash enters the world's oceans every year to become marine debris. Marine debris is responsible for the death of over a million innocent sea creatures every year. Estimates suggest that up to one third of total global plastic pollution comes from the beverage industry alone! We all have a part to play in reducing the amount of plastic entering our oceans and landfills. Refilling your reusable water bottle is a simple action that will help save the planet, our oceans and save you money!”

Emma Hart, Ethical Campaigns Co-ordinator says,

“At LUSH we believe in not using excess packaging. Single-use plastic makes up a huge percentage of waste that makes its way into our oceans, so we have decided to be part of the solution. While we are running this campaign with Take 3 in our shop windows for one week, we are committed to making a longer lasting difference. We have banned the use of plastic beverage containers throughout our business and have turned our stores into permanent refill stations to encourage our customers to refill their reusable drink bottles.”

* Statistic from: http://kickingthecan.org.au/

* Statistic from: http://storyofstuff.org/movies/story-of-bottled-water/

About LUSH 

Since its establishment 19 years ago, Lush Cosmetics has been driven by innovation and its ethics. Creators of pioneering beauty products such as the bath bomb, shower jellies and solid shampoo bars, Lush places emphasis on fresh ingredients like organic fruits and vegetables. Lush operates a strict policy against animal testing and supports fair trade and community trade initiatives. Lush leads the cosmetics industry in combating over-packaging by running public awareness campaigns and developing products that can be sold ‘naked’ to the consumer without any packaging. There are 910 Lush shops in 50 countries worldwide. In Australia, we employ over 300 people from sales staff in store and online who serve our customers to the teams hand-making our products in the Sydney-based factory. There are 26 Lush stores across the country, including our website LUSH.COM.AU. In 2013, Lush received the Australian Business Award for Environmental Sustainability, recognising leadership and commitment to the enhancement, preservation and protection of the environment through policies and initiatives.

About TAKE 3

‘Take 3' is a not-for-profit organisation formed in 2009 that aims to raise awareness of marine debris by encouraging each visitor to the beach, waterway or...anywhere to simply take 3 pieces of rubbish with them when they leave. We also encourage everyone to reduce their unnecessary plastic consumption - and make our lives a little less plastic.

'Take 3' aims to expand their message throughout Australia and the world and the group has already received widespread acclaim for their simple yet powerful message.  In March 2011 'Take 3' was awarded the Innaugural 'Taronga Conservation Society Green Grant' and a $50, 000 purse to help develop the organisation with the help of the team at Taronga Zoo. They aim to build on existing partnerships that will see the message target the wider community of beach users including surfers, fishermen, recreational boaters, surf life savers and everyone living on the coastal fringe.