Lush continues 'big tech rebellion' with new Black Friday initiative

Lush is continuing its "big tech rebellion" as it raises money for decentralised movement People vs Big Tech this Black Friday.

The brand plans to donate 100% of the sales price (minus the VAT) of its new limited-edition 'The Cloud' bath bomb to People vs Big Tech.

This aims to support the organisation's work to "rein in the handful of Big Tech companies that have monopolised the Internet with intrusive surveillance, predatory addictive-algorithms, harmful content and echo chambers".

Annabelle Baker, Global Brand Director at Lush, said: “Black Friday is generally a time when the Big Tech companies rake in huge profits, but at what cost?

"It’s important that we campaign at this critical time of year to fund movements like People vs Big Tech, which is providing a pathway to a future without surveillance advertising or predatory algorithms and putting the control back into the hands of the people.”

The initiative forms part of Lush's "big tech rebellion", which saw the brand deactivate its social media accounts on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat in November 2021.

It also cut its advertising spend with big tech firms earlier this year, slashing the “millions” it spends on Google ads, while redirecting customers onto its app and into stores.

This came as Lush surveyed over 12,000 consumers across the UK, US and Japan to better understand their digital wants and needs, as well as their views on the future of digital engagement and social media.

The study found that more consumers are spending less time on social media - 57% of those surveyed felt that big brands and corporations dominate technology and online culture, while 55% wanted 'big tech' to have less control online.

Alongside the report, Lush created six principles for digital spaces, platforms and engagement to enable a "techno-optimist future to flourish", called The Social Framework.

• Sustainability and the impact on the environment.
• Open-source and how competition needs to be replaced by cooperation.
• Community-controlled and decentralised data ownership.
• Iterative and agility in an ever-evolving landscape.
• Accessible and inclusive.
• Life-affirming.