About the Lush Prize

Launched in 2012, the Lush Prize is a major initiative aiming to bring forward the day when safety testing takes place without the use of animals.

It is the largest prize fund in the non-animal testing sector, awarding £250,000 every prize year (every two years). Between 2012 and 2024, Lush Prize has given £2.94 million to 140 winners in 36 countries, supporting scientists and activists in countries as diverse as China, Kenya, Iran, Ukraine and India, as well as New Zealand, Brazil, USA and across Europe.

This large prize fund is designed to support the most progressive work in the field and ensure it continues and has the most impact.

 
As well as the Prizes, the Lush Prize Conferences have been held to explore key issues with its winners and other experts.

The Lush Prize is a collaboration betweenLush Cosmetics, a campaigning manufacturer and retailer of fresh handmade cosmetics, and the research, publishing and campaigning co-operativeEthical Consumer.

 
Below, the people behind the Prize explain how and why the Prize came into existence.
 

 

Ending Animal Testing

Despite some successful and popular campaigns, animal research and testing still takes place.

Animal research and testing is both inhumane and unscientific and the Prize aims to speed the introduction of non-animal testing, particularly in toxicity testing for consumer products and ingredients.

Read more about the issues in our Frequently Asked Questions section.

 

Prize Categories

The various categories of the Lush Prize reflect the range of work required to end animal research and testing and replace it with human-relevant non-animal science: from creating awareness amongst the public, working with politicians for legislative change, to supporting scientists replacing animal use and training other scientists.

We remain flexible in adapting criteria for prize categories or adding new categories to ensure we continue to support the most relevant work. For this reason we also added non-financial (‘recognition’) awards – see the full list of prize categories here.

 

First 10 years of the Lush Prize

When the Lush Prize was being designed in 2012, we asked specialists how realistic it was to call for a world where all animal testing had stopped, and how long it might take to get there?

Most said we needed to be in it for the long haul, and that it would take at least 20 years to achieve that goal.
 

 
 
For the anniversary of the first ten years of the Prize we identified the following ten key developments or changes between 2012 and 2022 on the road to ending animal testing:

Science (and Young Researchers and Training) Prize
1. A rising awareness of the failure of the animal model
2. A rise of Organs on Chips and Computational Toxicology
3. AOPs (Adverse Outcome Pathways) are becoming embedded as a core knowledge framework

Politics (Lobbying, Public Awareness and Political Achievement Prizes)
4. Bans on animal tested cosmetics have been rolling out globally
5. A rise of ambition for full replacement everywhere (roadmaps)
6. A rise of 3Rs centres and replacement ideas

Reasons not to celebrate too soon
7. Painfully slow decreases in animal use
8. Institutional inertia remains a real problem

Reasons to be cheerful
9. More discussion of human relevant science and less of ‘alternatives’
10. Young scientists are increasingly being trained in and are enthusiastic about these ideas

For more detail see the evaluation paper (PDF download) – Lush Prize – 2012 to 2022: What’s been achieved on the road to ending animal testing in the last ten years?