Inside Lush’s Green Hub: Reuse, Repair and Rethink in Action
Two years after opening its doors, the Lush’s Green Hub continues to deliver on its mission to help Lush, its customers and the wider community to reduce, reuse, recycle and rethink.
Lush, a British cosmetics company known for its handmade, ethical and innovative products, has focused its facility on a circular economy, connecting waste processing with education, innovation and social impact.
The Green Hub’s 2024 report outlines how collaboration across the business, from customers returning packaging to staff segregating materials, has been essential to its success.
Processing more, wasting less
In 2024, the Green Hub processed 1,702 tonnes of solid waste, a rise from 1,043 tonnes in 2023.
The increase was largely due to higher production at UK sites following the closure of manufacturing operations in Germany and more packaging returned from stores.
Correspondingly, bins collected rose by 30%, from 7,128 in 2023 to 9,249 in 2024.
Of the total waste processed, 40% was recycled, 32% reused or reconditioned, 13.9% composted and 8.6% recovered through energy-from-waste, with just 5.6% sent to other outlets.
The reuse and reconditioning rate increased while the recycling percentage fell, due in part to a contaminated batch of plastics.
Looking ahead, the Hub is placing greater focus on reuse in 2025.
“This report could not exist without customers bringing their packaging back, shops sorting them correctly, manufacturing colleagues segregating their waste and finding ways to re-use materials,” the team says.
“The link that closes the loop is you!”
Plastics and cardboard remain the largest waste streams.
Out of the almost one million Lush plastic packaging items returned in 2024, 42.9 tonnes came back through the Bring It Back scheme — up from 33.2 tonnes in 2023.
The scheme saw an 18% return rate in 2024, compared to 15% the previous year, with the top-returning shops located in Liverpool Street, Sheffield, Poole and Brighton.
The Green Hub also operates its own in-house laundry, which processed 479,111 items in 2024 for Lush’s UK Spas.
Powered by 100% renewable electricity, carbon-offset gas and eco-detergents, the laundry minimises its footprint through water treatment systems and reusable cloth trials.
"In an industry often criticised for its environmental footprint, Lush's efforts in waste processing show that commercial success and environmental stewardship can go hand in hand," says Christopher Marquis, Sinyi Professor of Chinese Management at University of Cambridge and Forbes Journalist.
“Our waste, our responsibility,” the team states, a key slogan that runs through all Green Hub activities.
Community partnerships
Beyond processing waste, the Green Hub serves as an inclusive and educational space.
In 2024, 550 external visitors and 946 Lush colleagues took part in tours.
Seventeen events and workshops were hosted, attracting interest from other businesses, local networks and sustainability professionals.
“Green Hub Tours are a great way to learn about the circular economy and see what it looks like in practice!” the team explains.
As part of a partnership with Bournemouth University, the Hub welcomed 45 students from schools with a high percentage of disadvantaged pupils.
These visits included product-making sessions, career talks and sustainability workshops.
Lush’s DEI efforts go beyond education.
Lush’s approach is built on a belief in the link between environmental action and social justice.
“We stand in solidarity with all those people who have worked so hard to create these rights.” says Mark Constantine, Lush Co-Founder and CEO.
The Green Hub also participated in the Wimborne Green Festival with the Poole shop, connecting with the local community on Lush’s ethics, circularity and packaging-free “naked” products.
When products are overstocked or misjudged in popularity, they are distributed to food banks, women's refuges and refugee organisations.
In 2024, 70,000 items were donated with 151,366 distributed through Lush shops to local vulnerable groups.
Shop Again, the Hub’s surplus resale outlet for staff, raised £37,374 (US$50,240) in 2024 to use for Hub improvements and donations to local causes, including Project Planet Earth, Bournemouth Dignity Centre and Action Against Fox Hunting.
"We want to express our sincere thanks once again for LUSH's generous donation to the Bournemouth Dignity Centre,” comments a Bournemouth Dignity Centre spokesperson.
“Your support has had a meaningful impact on the lives of people seeking asylum and refugees in our community."
Repair, maintenance and moving forward
The Green Hub houses the Lush maintenance and engineering team, which completed 2,835 repairs in 2024 — four times more than in 2022.
Keeping repairs in-house delivered savings of £432,000 (almost US$581,000) to the business.
The facility also features an area dedicated to repairs and reuses that would otherwise be discarded, reinforcing the ethos: “Fix it, don’t ditch it.”
All of these efforts reflect a commitment not just to waste reduction, but to rethinking how resources are used, recovered and redistributed.
Explore the latest edition of Sustainability Magazine and be part of the conversation at our global conference series, Sustainability LIVE.
Discover all our upcoming events and secure your tickets today.
Sustainability Magazine is a BizClik brand
