Lush Takes On Death Penalty Cause

Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, in partnership with Death Penalty Focus (DPF), is launching a national campaign calling for the abolition of the death penalty. The campaign includes store events designed to raise awareness of the flaws in the death penalty system and encourage community members to get involved in the national effort calling for the abolition of capital punishment.

Lush Cosmetics and DPF are partnering with other organizations, such as the National Coalition Against the Death Penalty and Witness to Innocence, in the campaign which will run from May 15 – 25, 2017, and events will take place in major cities including Chicago, Atlanta, St. Louis, Phoenix and West Des Moines. 

The events will feature speakers including exonerees, grassroots organizations, and activists, who will share personal stories and experiences. For a limited time, Lush will sell an exclusive bath bomb called “31 States,” of which 100%  of the purchase price will be donated to organizations mobilizing and engaging the millions of Americans who believe it's time to band together and abolish capital punishment. Through the sale of 31 States, Lush aims to raise $150,000.

The partnership between Lush and DPF began last year when DPF became a recipient of a Charity Pot grant. Lush donates 100% of the sales proceeds from its Charity Pot hand and body lotions to nonprofits and charitable organizations. (Since launching the program in 2007, Lush has supported 850 grassroots organizations with more than $10 million in 42 countries.)

“We are very pleased to partner with a company like Lush,” said DPF president Mike Farrell. “Not only is the company's business model based on ethical, environmental, and socially conscious principles, but it brings awareness of the death penalty and its flaws to a different segment of the population.”

“In 2016, death sentences, executions and support for capital punishment were at an historic low, making flaws and failures of the death penalty more apparent than ever,” said Carleen Pickard, ethical campaigns specialist at Lush Cosmetics. “The more people learn about the death penalty, the less they like it, and we're excited to bring this important issue to our customers.”

With more than 150 thousand supporters, Death Penalty Focus is one of the world's largest organizations solely dedicated to ending capital punishment. For nearly three decades, DPF has worked to raise public awareness, mobilize grassroots activists, build coalitions, and educate policy makers about the death penalty and its alternatives.