Lush launches new Green Hub as it looks to close the loop on waste
Lush has completed the build of its new Green Hub facility in its home town of Poole, Dorset showcasing the sustainable brand's commitment to, and investment in, finding solutions for materials that could be considered as waste.
The brand has been operating a Green Hub facility since 2015 but has invested £2.3m in relocating to and refitting its new 40,000 sq ft premises on the Fleets Corner Business Park, which is three times the size of its previous facility.
Key functions of the new Green Hub include: granulating plastic as part of the brand’s closed loop Bring it Back recycling scheme; treating wastewater from its manufacturing and laundry processes; repairing machinery to prevent purchasing new; and donating surplus products and lifestyle items to charities and grassroots groups across the country.
The completion of the build vastly expands Lush's capacity to reuse, repurpose, repair and recycle materials. In 2022, from the new facility, Lush was able to recycle 81% of its UK manufacturing waste, repair over 700 electrical items and donate more than 107,000 products and lifestyle items to those in need.
The Green Hub will be open to the public
In 2023, with the Green Hub running at its full capacity the capabilities are only set to grow. Using its PET and PPE plastic granulators, the Green Hub team will be able to process 20 tonnes of plastic per week in a closed loop, while the DAF water treatment unit will bring Lush’s wastewater treatment process in-house, processing 500 tonnes of dirty water each year and preventing the need to transport wastewater off-site.
To encourage others to find solutions to the problem of wastes, the Green Hub will be first space the brand will be opening to the public on its UK manufacturing campus, with a schedule of events, workshops and community engagement opportunities designed to allow for environmental focused education and collaboration between local and national businesses, councils, schools and community groups.
Inside the 40,000 sq ft facility
Ruth Andrade, Earthcare Strategy Lead for Lush said of the initiative: “The best positive contribution we have made to the waste problem at Lush is to invent, manufacture and sell our revolutionary naked cosmetics, however, we also create creams, gels and gifts, and manufacture our own products, so we are still generating waste.
"We asked ourselves what would happen if, instead of dealing with materials as waste, we processed them to keep their value for longer? What would happen if we kept them in the loop? Then if we were to do this, how could we really know what happened to our materials at the end of their lives? To answer these questions, and to keep our waste traceable and ourselves accountable, the Green Hub was born.
"From the early days of the first Green Hub in 2015, it has been about much more than just ways to process materials, it has been about finding the hidden potential in the materials we use. From closing the loop on our black pots, to making sure none of the waste gets exported, from innovations like our climate positive cork storage pots, to planning our shop spaces using repurposed wood and fixtures, at the heart of the Green Hub is innovation. With this new big and better Green Hub, we can do much more, and more importantly open our doors for our community to design this journey with us.”
Lush was founded in the Dorset town of Poole in 1995 and was a trailblazer in the cruelty-free cosmetics space. Best known for its fizzing bath bombs and waste free shampoo bars, the business continues to be a leader in the fields of ethics and sustainability. Today it operates in 53 countries with over 800 shops, 38 websites shipping worldwide and a global network of native apps, broadcasting channels and digital communities in over 30 languages.
