Eco-friendly makeup company Lush Cosmetics is making a radical move and shutting down all social media accounts — Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat — in a move to address its customers’ mental health issues.
“As an inventor of bath bombs, I pour all my efforts into creating products that help people switch off, relax and pay attention to their wellbeing,” Jack Constantine, chief digital officer and product inventor at Lush, said in a press release.
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“Social media platforms have become the antithesis of this aim, with algorithms designed to keep people scrolling and stop them from switching off and relaxing,” Constantine said.
The social media accounts will be deactivated in the 48 countries where Lush operates effective Friday (Nov. 26) and will remain that way until the platforms take proactive measures to offer users a “safer environment.”
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Lush said the company is known for being a leader and feels the best way to affect change is by example. Changing its social media practices is a first step in formally acknowledging that a problem exists, according to the release.
“I’ve spent all my life avoiding putting harmful ingredients in my products. There is now overwhelming evidence we are being put at risk when using social media,” said Mark Constantine, OBE, co-founder, CEO and product inventor at Lush. “I’m not willing to expose my customers to this harm, so it’s time to take it out of the mix.”
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Lush said that it tried to leave social media in 2019 with the U.K. channels, just as others have, but fear of missing out (FOMO) kept it using various platforms despite its best intentions.
“The brand’s resolve has been strengthened by all the latest information from courageous whistleblowers, which clearly lays out the known harms that young people are exposed to because of the current algorithms and loose regulation of this new area of our lives,” according to the press release.
