UK-based beauty brand Lush has launched a campaign across all of its stores in the UK, Europe, US and Canada highlighting concerns about the impact of major social media platforms and directing customers towards organizations and resources focused on promoting safer social media use.
The campaign comes almost five years after Lush stopped using Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and X commercially. Since then, the retailer says scrutiny of these platforms has increased, including concerns over their potentially addictive design, the impact of social media use on young people and the role of major platforms in political and democratic processes.
“For many of us social media was a seemingly harmless way to connect with people, to document and share moments in our lives. Along the way things took a sinister turn, as social media companies seemed to prioritized profit over the wellbeing of the people using their platforms […] When we see the proliferation of hate speech online, that spills into violence on our streets, where is the accountability for those who allow this to happen on the platforms they own? This campaign hopes to engage people in conversations about what social media has become and how we might be able to work together to stop the harms currently being caused and build a better, safer, digital future instead” said Andrew Butler, Lush Campaigns Manager.
Lush will launch safersocials.com as part of the campaign, a website featuring resources and links to organizations working to promote safer social media and help people of all ages develop healthier online habits. The site will also include a timeline covering the retailer’s digital rights initiatives over the past decade.
For the duration of the campaign, Lush will also sell a new product, the Ctrl Shower Gummy. The company will donate 75% of the product’s sale price, excluding tax, to organizations working to promote safer social media and reduce the influence of major technology platforms.