Naked

Packaging generates an enormous amount of waste, with millions of tons ending up in landfills and our oceans each year.

Over the years, sustainability in the beauty industry has become increasingly more important. Consumers are looking for ways to reduce waste in their routines and we couldn’t be more excited. We’ve always felt that the best way to reduce packaging waste is by getting rid of packaging altogether. That’s why 47 percent of our all-year-round products are unpackaged, or as we like to say, naked. And the rest? They’re packaged using recycled and recyclable materials.

Solid choices

We’re leading the way in innovative solid products, which eliminate the need for packaging. Our naked bubble bars, conditioners, henna hair dyes, and massage bars save millions of plastic bottles from being produced, transported and disposed of every year. And when you purchase our naked products, you get the highest quality ingredients and fragrances, so your money is spent on products that work best for your skin and hair, and not fancy packaging that you might simply throw away.

Our shampoo bars are a fabulous example of the far-reaching impact that a single switch from packaged to naked can make. From 2005 to 2023, we sold more than 59 million shampoo bars, saving 180 million plastic bottles from ever being produced. That’s approximately 4500 tons of plastic saved—that amount of plastic is equivalent to five percent of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch!

Lush inventors have been creating solid, naked products for decades that don’t require synthetic preservatives—which means that all our naked products are completely self-preserving. We do this by formulating product recipes that require little to no water, where bacteria loves to thrive and grow, and instead replace it with natural preservatives like honey and salt, so there’s no need for synthetic alternatives.

By providing unpackaged options for the bath, shower and body, we hope to increase awareness around the overuse of disposable packaging and challenge other retailers to get innovative and reduce their packaging too.

Waste-free gifts and online orders

We never wanted to lose the excitement of ripping open a gift, but we didn’t love the waste of single-use wrapping paper. Around 2010, we stopped offering traditional cellophane gift wrapping in our shops in favor of reusable fabric knot-wraps. They’re either made from a silky material spun from recycled plastic bottles, or from organic cotton, each one with colorful designs that add personality to any wrapped gift. Rather than being thrown away, they can be reused for gift wrapping, decorating or as an accessory. And if your Lush gift came in a knot-wrap, metal tin or cardboard box, it’s always either reusable or completely recyclable.

Ever wonder about those packing peanuts in your Lush gift or online order? They’re 100 percent plant-based (made from potato starch), water soluble, and can be tossed right into your home compost! Plus, all the paper we use for our products and gifts is 100 percent post-consumer recycled, while online orders are always delivered in 100 percent recycled cardboard boxes along with eco-friendly packing tape.

Ever wonder about those packing peanuts in your Lush gift or online order? They’re 100 percent plant-based (made from potato starch), water soluble, and can be tossed right into your home compost! Plus, all the paper we use for our products and gifts is 100 percent post-consumer recycled, while online orders are always delivered in 100 percent recycled cardboard boxes along with eco-friendly packing tape.

What about the plastic bottles and pots?

When we can’t eliminate packaging completely (like in the case of liquid body washes or gift sets), we use only recycled, recyclable, reusable or compostable materials, like our 100 percent post-consumer recycled plastic bottles and pots and biodegradable bags.

If you regularly buy products in our signature black pots, hold on to your empty ones! Our Bring It Back initiative allows you to return up to five pots at a time (to your local shop) in exchange for a free fresh face mask. Or if you prefer, you can return one pot for $1 off your purchase. We send these pots back to our recycler, who molds them into brand new black pots in a closed-loop recycling system. For all of our other packaging, like our clear pots, body spray bottles, sample pots, and makeup tubes, you can bring those to us too, and we’ll do the recycling for you!

We’re always looking for innovative ways to reduce our impact with packaging. In 2012, we worked with our clear bottle manufacturer to make our bottles 10 percent thinner. In 2016, this saved almost 13,600 pounds of plastic. Between 2005 and 2023, Lush packaging-free soaps, shampoo bars and pressed conditioners have saved the world from 13,800 tons of plastic—that’s the weight of 76 blue whales.

Currently we are using Ocean Legacy's ocean plastics, composed of broken and discarded oyster baskets and fishing ropes and nets. At the moment we are only able to use five percent ocean plastics to make our retail sample pots.

Ready to strip away excess packaging? Stop by your local shop to discover all the ways you can say goodbye to excess waste.