{"id":652,"date":"2025-05-22T14:50:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T14:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/?p=652"},"modified":"2025-05-22T15:04:45","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T15:04:45","slug":"lush-is-an-ethical-beauty-brand-you-can-trust-just-ask-dylan-mulvaney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/22\/lush-is-an-ethical-beauty-brand-you-can-trust-just-ask-dylan-mulvaney\/","title":{"rendered":"Lush Is An Ethical Beauty Brand You Can Trust. Just Ask Dylan Mulvaney"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Finding a company that matches your values in this divisive social climate<\/a> can be like trying to find an adequate pair of jeans when you\u2019re in between sizes. There may be a few brands that almost<\/em> deliver on the promise of a perfect fit, but with every pair you pull on, something isn\u2019t quite right. Oh, and they\u2019re all made in sweat shops. Yes, it\u2019s usually naive at best and futile at worst to put your faith in a for-profit corporation to provide good products and<\/em> be good. But for 30 years, Lush has done both<\/a>. Led by co-founder Rowena Bird<\/a>, Lush Cosmetics<\/a> has been committed to protecting people, animals, and the planet and they\u2019ve put their money where their morals are. Recently, they threw a Resist Ball<\/a> (hosted by trans activist Dylan Mulvaney) <\/a>to honor a big milestone: donating 100 million dollars to grassroots organizations. <\/p>\n

Long before the Resist Ball, Bird and the beauty company have been at the forefront of combining commerce with furthering good causes. They were vegan before it was trendy and sustainable before it was expected. \u201cIt\u2019s always been in the whole ecosystem [of the company]. It\u2019s in the bones of us, as opposed to saying, \u2018hey we\u2019ll start a company, and what do people want to see? Let\u2019s do that\u2019,\u201d Bird tells me over lunch at Cafe Cluny in New York City the day before the Resist Ball. She knows about the stat that 82% of Gen Z say they are more likely to purchase from brands<\/a> that advocate for social equality, but that\u2019s not her motivation. \u201cIt\u2019s always been, \u2018no, this is how we are, and whether it\u2019s fashionable or not, this is how we\u2019re going to be, and this is what we\u2019re going to do.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

That commitment is clear in their partnership with Mulvaney, a comedian, activist and bestselling author who used to work at Lush when she was 16 years old growing up in San Diego. \u201cI think if you had told me then that I would be hosting the Lush Resist Ball in New York City, I would have probably passed out on top of the gorgeously curated bath bomb display I had just made,\u201d Mulvaney said to laughs as she emceed the Resist Ball. Before the big event, Refinery29 was there as Mulvaney was getting ready \u2014 glam and all \u2014 and she spoke more of what the partnership means to her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Refinery29 (@refinery29)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cLush was one of the only places I felt safe as a queer kid,\u201d Mulvaney said in a pink Marchesa gown. \u201cAll the women and queer people who worked there made me feel like I could be myself.\u201d Her collaboration, the \u201cLate Bloomer\u201d bath bomb, has already garnered over $30,000 for trans-led organizations. As an outsider looking in at Mulvaney\u2019s partnership with the brand, it\u2019s a beautiful testament to the longevity of Lush\u2019s progressive spirit. The brand created a safe space for Mulvaney when she was a vulnerable teen, and now she\u2019s blossomed into an essential voice in the trans community and a beacon of hope on our depressing timelines.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Lush was one of the only places I felt safe as a queer kid.<\/p>\n

dylan mulvaney<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

When I ask Bird what it means to her that Mulvaney found solace in her stores, she gives an answer, like so many times throughout our lunch, that is oozing with humility and empathy. \u201cIt makes me sad because that\u2019s the only place [where she felt included] but I\u2019m pleased that there is somewhere. One of our taglines is \u2018All are welcome always.\u2019 Everywhere should be. But if we can create a safe place for people to hopefully see or feel things in there, it makes me feel good,\u201d Bird says. \u201cIt\u2019s a really great, authentic story, given that she actually worked at Lush. She truly is a fan of the brand and uses many of our products.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Unlike Mulvaney, I hadn\u2019t used Lush products in years. I remember picking up bath bombs when I was in high school working at my local mall in Oakville, Ontario, and Lush was the store we gravitated to because of its distinct aroma and inviting displays. So when I showed up to my hotel room and it was packed with Lush products, I knew I had to try them all. From the \u201cdream cream\u201d body lotion to the \u201cultrabland\u201d facial cleanser and the \u201cbrazziliant\u201d body butter, my skin hadn\u2019t smelled \u2014 or felt \u2014 better. And it helps knowing that all the packaging is recyclable and the products are made with cruelty-free and vegan or vegetarian ingredients.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When Bird talks about how the brand chooses their ingredients (like sourcing Tagua nuts in Ecuador for their scrubs), she lights up. And when she details how Lush vets which grassroots organizations to give to, she\u2019s even more passionate. \u201cWe have an in-house team that\u2019s dedicated to vetting those organizations and ensuring that the money is going to go to places where it\u2019s going to make the biggest impact.\u201d The 100 million dollars that has been donated over the last 30 years has all been distributed amongst 19,000 different ones. Lush actually employs an ethics director (Hilary Jones, a former activist and campaigner), which is not something all beauty brands can say. And what does Bird say to the critics who think Lush should stay in its lane and be less outspoken? \u201cIt\u2019s important,\u201d she says plainly. \u201cI think it matters who says it, as long as it\u2019s genuine, as long as it\u2019s the truth, as long as it\u2019s not greenwashing information to tell you what is going on and what governments don\u2019t want you to know that you really should<\/em> know. If there\u2019s something that you can do about it, do it. If a million people make that one small change, it\u2019s actually a big change. And we\u2019ve got all our windows and billboards to the world to be able to pass those messages on, and then a customer or person walking past can think, \u2018Do I want to know more about that<\/em>?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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We\u2019ve got all our windows and billboards to the world to be able to pass messages on, and then a customer or person walking past can think, \u2018Do I want to know more about that<\/em>?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

rowena bird, lush co-founder<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s job is to highlight things that are not right so that people can make their own decisions. We have the luxury of all these shop windows where we can do it, so we\u2019re gonna do it,\u201d Bird says, referring to a recent campaign where they renamed three bath bombs to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion<\/a>. Since Trump\u2019s inauguration, many brands have cowered to the U.S. president\u2019s demands to roll back DEI initiatives. Lush not only remains committed to their plan<\/a>,<\/strong> they\u2019re also very publicly and unequivocally condemning the far right\u2019s war on progress. In a time when so many other beauty brands have abandoned their moral compasses, Lush\u2019s has never been more centered.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lush\u2019s continued commitment to DEI was on full display when I got to experience the Lush Spa on Lexington Avenue. The staff looked as eclectic as the streets of New York City, and my spa treatment was led by a warm and welcoming Black woman named Solange. Rest is an essential part of any resistance so before the Resist Ball, I got the Wicked<\/em>-themed book-a-bath experience (which I swore the team curated specifically for me, a noted Wicked <\/em>stan, but the activation has been available for months) which was an unforgettable, 30-minute immersive bathing session that transports you into the magical world of Oz. While enveloped in a cozy, green-and-gold room adorned with taper candles and Oz-themed wallpaper (as you soak, instrumental versions of songs from the Wicked<\/em> soundtrack play) and enjoying my \u201cPink Fizzes Good With Green<\/a>\u201d bath bomb and limited edition \u201cEmerald City Soap<\/a>,\u201d I thought about how rare and frankly radical it is to encounter a successful business that delivers such care and intention in the products and experiences they deliver and<\/em> in the causes they support. In the past year, it would be easy to start to believe that these things can\u2019t coexist; that you have to choose between your morals and making money, between value and your values. Sure, I was on a curated brand trip, but Lush is who they say they are, and learning that truth was as refreshing as taking a bath in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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On the night of the Resist Ball, Lush continued to prove that its charitable commitments aren\u2019t just lip service. Partygoers were treated to the sounds of the Resistance Revival Chorus (with one singer donning a keffiyah scarf), Mulvaney\u2019s energetic hosting style, and a conversation moderated by Carleen Pickard, the advocacy and activism manager for Lush North America. The panelists included Danielle Silber, the director of corporate engagement for the ACLU<\/a>, Damario Solomon-Simmons, national civil rights attorney and founder of Justice for Greenwood<\/a> (a foundation fighting for justice, restoration & reparations for the survivors and descendants of the victims of the Tulsa Massacre), and Manuel Oliver, gun violence activist, co-founder of Change the Ref<\/a> (working to vote out politicians who take NRA money and vote in politicians with gun-safety agendas), and father of Parkland shooting victim, Jaoquin Oliver.<\/p>\n

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This wasn\u2019t your average panel at a beauty event. Things like reparations, gun violence, and fighting against unlawful deportations are topics people tell you to avoid at dinner parties. For Lush, they are issues in desperate need of platforming. While the panel just scratched the surface of each issue, the conversation went deep and the room was left in awe of each activist and their imperative work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

By the time Rowena Bird took the stage to thank the crowd, there had been big laughs, a few tears, and a space created that prioritized resistance and joy (the motto \u201cjoy is an act of resistance\u201d was projected on a giant screen throughout the night).\u00a0<\/p>\n

When she was 16, Mulvaney found a safe space in Lush. A decade later, while she\u2019s no stranger to people attacking her joy and her very existence, she stood up in a space that met her with applause and excitement. Mulvaney is someone who lives authentically in the face of bigotry and stands in her truth, in spite of an onslaught of hate. Now, she\u2019s found a partnership that matches that energy. You could say it\u2019s the perfect fit. <\/p>\n

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The Resist Ball, and Lush\u2019s 30 years of service, was a reminder that companies can stand up for what\u2019s right, even when it\u2019s not popular and amid pressure to stay silent, you can thrive without compromising your values, and that giving back is always good for business. In this climate, it\u2019s the reminder we all needed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Which Beauty Brands Are Still Committed To DEI?<\/a><\/p>\n

Hanahana Founder Abena Boamah’s Beauty Routine<\/a><\/p>\n

Lush Welcomes 54 New Bath Bombs<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Finding a company that matches your values in this divisive social climate can be like trying to find an adequate pair of jeans when you\u2019re in between sizes. There may be a few brands that almost deliver on the promise of a perfect fit, but with every pair you pull on, something isn\u2019t quite right….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":654,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=652"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":660,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652\/revisions\/660"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}