{"id":395714,"date":"2025-09-03T22:57:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T22:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/395714\/"},"modified":"2025-09-03T22:57:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T22:57:11","slug":"lush-closes-all-its-uk-stores-in-protest-over-starvation-in-gaza-retail-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/395714\/","title":{"rendered":"Lush closes all its UK stores in protest over starvation in Gaza | Retail industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

The cosmetics retailer Lush has closed its UK shops, factories and website in protest over starvation in Gaza<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A statement appeared on its website and on posters on shop windows on Wednesday, which read: \u201cStop starving Gaza, we are closed in solidarity\u201d, while its flagship spa on London\u2019s Oxford Street was marked as \u201ctemporarily closed\u201d on Google Maps.<\/p>\n

In an interview with LBC radio, the co-founder Mark Constantine said<\/a> the company\u2019s estimated losses as a result of the closure would be about \u00a3300,000. While offering his support for the decision, he added: \u201cIt would be nice to be able to pay for food to go into Gaza, rather than just sacrificing [profits].\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement released on the Lush website asks for customers\u2019 forgiveness for any inconvenience, but says that \u201cmany of our customers share the same anxiety about the situation in Gaza\u201d. It calls on the government to bring an end to \u201cdeath and destruction\u201d as well as stop arms sales to Israel<\/a>. \u201cThe UK government is losing a day of tax contributions from Lush,\u201d the statement notes.<\/p>\n

In 2024, the UK-founded luxury cosmetics brand produced 102m products and had a turnover of \u00a3690m. It operates 869 stores globally, with the most stores in the UK.<\/p>\n

It says that its Palestine-focussed fundraising product, Watermelon Slice soap, has been the most successful single fundraising product in its history, with profits going towards mental health services for children in Gaza and the West Bank.<\/p>\n

The company has previously taken stands on other issues \u2013 it launched a \u201c#Spycops\u201d campaign<\/a> in 2018 to highlight abuses by undercover police officers in the UK, and boycotted<\/a> some social media apps in 2021, citing their negative effects on the body image for teenagers.<\/p>\n

Lush has also sent<\/a> cheques to direct action climate campaigning groups, including RoadBlock and anti-aviation group Clear the Skies. However, it opposed<\/a> the placement of a \u201cBoycott Israel\u201d poster on a Dublin store shopfront in October 2023, saying it did not represent the Lush ethos that \u201cAll Are Welcome. Always.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Lush told the PA news that agency staff were being paid for the closure day.<\/p>\n

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The prime minister last month said the UK would recognise a Palestinian state<\/a> later in September unless Israel agrees to meet certain conditions, including addressing the humanitarian crisis, implementing a ceasefire and reviving the prospect of a two-state solution.<\/p>\n

In a statement on the Middle East to the House of Commons on Monday, the foreign secretary, David Lammy, told MPs Gaza was experiencing a \u201cman-made famine\u201d as Israel\u2019s aid restrictions continue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The cosmetics retailer Lush has closed its UK shops, factories and website in protest over starvation in Gaza.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":395715,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[748,393,4884,12,1144,712,16,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-395714","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-northern-ireland","13":"tag-scotland","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115142842386671563","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=395714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395714\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/395715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=395714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=395714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=395714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}