Lush pledges to defend digital rights

23-Nov-2016 - Last updated on 23-Nov-2016 at 14:33 GMT

Beauty brand Lush has announced it is joining forces with digital rights organisation, Access Now, in its global campaign to oppose government ordered internet shutdowns.

Lush joins Access Now in the next stage of its #KeepItOn campaign, aiming to raise £250k in support of digital rights.

Access Now has been fighting internet shutdowns since its founding in 2009, according to the organisation, when the government of Iran disrupted the internet around its elections.

The #KeepitOn coalition includes more than 100 organizations from nearly 50 countries who are pushing back against this practice at all levels - at the United Nations, at the government level, and with key stakeholders such as telecommunications companies and investors.

Lush and #KeepItOn

Lush’s participation in the campaign kicks off on Black Friday this year, 25 November 2016 - a key annual date on the retail calendar for many companies, where products are sold at a discount to encouraging purchasing in the run up to the winter holidays.

The campaign runs until 7 December, and will take place on Lush.com and in 40 countries around the world, with Lush staff and local campaign partners set to talk to customers about digital rights and their relevance.

Customers will also be invited to join the fight by signing a petition, asking world leaders to keep the internet on. It will be handed to government leaders at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF 2016) on the final day of the campaign, Wednesday 7 December, in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Jack Constantine, Chief Digital Officer at Lush, said of the campaign: “As the Internet becomes a more integral part of our daily lives, we need to protect these newly forming rights and ensure a fair and equal internet for all.”

Political bath bomb

A key element to Lush’s participation will be its retailing of a special edition bath bomb, Error 404, which will be priced at £4.04 and on sale from Black Friday.

“Since establishing 21 years ago, Lush has been driven by innovation and its ethics,” the company states.

“Lush Digital contribute to and are part of the global open source software community, striving to ensure they use only ethically sourced and powered hardware and take a strong ethical stance on how data should be used and control of privacy given back to the user.”