Lush - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Lush is Medium Risk.

Lush often yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. The company implements race and identity-based policies that replace merit, excellence, and integrity with preferential treatment and outcomes. Lush occasionally embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues at times. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	Lower Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	Medium Risk
Employment Protection	High Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	High Risk
Political Actions	No Data

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Lush has not publicly canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (1).

Criteria:

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Lush does not appear to discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or beliefs (1).

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Lush does not publish a nondiscrimination policy (1). The company mandates “anti-racism training” for all of its employees (2). Lush undertook unconscious bias training for senior leadership, product inventors, and the people and recruitment team (3).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Lush partnered with the National Center for Transgender Equality in 2018 to promote its trans rights campaign and gave away 75,000 “How to be a trans ally” booklet in stores (1)(2). The company implemented a fact sheet for trans and non-binary employees, introduced gender neutral bathroom signs and removed gender language from its website and shops (3). Lush signed an open letter endorsing the Equality Act, a contentious proposal to amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act by adding sexual orientation and so-called gender identity as protected categories. The legislation would, among other implications, grant biological men access to women-only spaces such as sports teams and public restrooms, and compel healthcare providers to deliver sex-denying healthcare and dedicated a whole page on its website to educate and celebrate the queer community (4)(5)(6). The company partnered with Galop, to implement legislation that will protect LGBT+ people from “conversion therapy” and in 2022 various Florida Lush locations released a limited-edition Gay is OK soap to support Equality Florida (7)(8). Lush released a statement in support of the BLM movement (9). The company started an internal community group for its Trans and Non-Binary employees, enabled payroll information to be available without dead naming or misgendering, made pronoun badges accessible, and implemented an internal gender diversity and inclusivity training program (10). Lush published a series of articles on its website about gender ideology and how to be a transgender ally (11). The company has opposed “anti-LGBT” state legislation (12). Lush opposed the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, which would prohibit teaching gender identity and sexual orientation to kids in K-3rd grade (13). The company also opposed legislation that the HRC views as “anti-LGBT” in Alabama, Iowa, Indiana, Texas, and Kentucky (14)(15)(16)(17)(18). Lush has a speaker series on such issues as White Fragility and Microaggressions (19). Lush advocates for ideological causes, organizations, and policies (20). The company’s CEO Mark Wolverton signed a letter supporting abortion (21)(22). Lush opposed various state and local legislation intended to protect parental rights, girls’ sports, bathroom facilities, and gendered spaces (23). The company opposed legislation in Iowa intended to protect parental rights, girls’ sports, bathroom facilities, and gendered spaces (24). Lush is a member of the “Don’t Ban Equality” business coalition, which advocates against any abortion restrictions because they are “bad for business” (25).

Criteria:

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Lush provides a benefits package for employees that covers travel/lodging costs for an abortion (1)(2). The company created a limited-edition bath melt donating all proceeds from the sale to the National Center for Transgender Equality and the Canadian Center for Gender and Sexual Diversity (3). Lush’s charitable giving organization “Charity Pot” supports various LGBTQ2+ groups including; Garden State Equality, Familia TQLM, Transilient, Get Real, and South Carolina Youth Action Project (4)(5). Lush partnered with the ACLU to support LGBTQ rights during Pride Month (6). Lush supports the Movement for Black Lives, Black Men Build, Dream Defenders, Black Voters Matter Fund, Black Youth Project 100, Southerners on New Ground, Marsha P. Johnson Institute, ACLU of Louisiana and ACLU of Georgia (7). Lush donated $250,000 of its Charity Pot sales to “Black-led, community-based organizations (8).” Lush supports The Black Curriculum (9)(10). Lush sponsored the Rally for Abortion Justice in partnership with the Women’s March (11). Lush supports the LGBT community through ideological organizations like Transilient, Unisilence, and the South Carolina Youth Project (12)(13). Lush supports Drag Queen Storytime (14)(15). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of Lush using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (16).