Ethical cosmetics retail chain Lush says it is “turning its back on” Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat, as it adopts a new “anti social media” policy.
From 26th November 2021, the global Lush brand will come off Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat, until, the company says, the platforms “take action to provide a safer environment for users”. The policy is being rolled out across all the 48 countries where Lush operates.
Lush says it is responding, in part, to leaked Facebook research that suggested its Instagram app made body image issues worse for teenage girls, a key segment of Lush’s customer demographic.
“There is now overwhelming evidence we are being put at risk when using social media. I’m not willing to expose my customers to this harm, so it’s time to take it out of the mix”
Lush co-founder, Mark Constantine, said: “I’ve spent all my life avoiding putting harmful ingredients in my products. There is now overwhelming evidence we are being put at risk when using social media. I’m not willing to expose my customers to this harm, so it’s time to take it out of the mix”.
The company draws parallels between the way evidence of climate change was “ignored and belittled for decades” and concerns about the serious effects of social media that it says “are going largely ignored now”.
Lush has calculated that coming off major social media platforms (its Facebook and Instagram accounts alone had 10.6 million followers) could lose it an estimated £10 million sales. Lush’s chief executive, Mark Constantine, said this week that he is happy to take the hit.