Origin of the Prize

The Lush Prize, founded in 2012, is a unique collaboration between Lush Cosmetics and Ethical Consumer Research Association.

Lush is a campaigning manufacturer and retailer of fresh handmade cosmetics, with shops in 49 countries. Lush provides the resources and passion behind the Prize, which is one element of its ‘Fighting Animal Testing’ campaign.

Ethical Consumer is a research, publishing and campaigning co-operative based in Manchester, UK. It provides research and campaigning, and manages the Prize on a day-to-day basis.

 
The idea for Lush Prize came about when the owners of Lush became frustrated at the entrenched nature of animal testing and felt it was taking too long for it to stop.

So they came up with an idea: a £250,000 pot of money every year to fund a series of joined-up initiatives to progress the work that is taking place around the world, working to end the use of animals in experiments. From 2019/20 the Prize became a biennial award.

 
Lush founder Mark Constantine says why he set up the Prize: