Lush boss Mark Constantine ‘happy to lose £10m’ after quitting social media

By Becky Bargh | Published: 29-Nov-2021

Beauty empire exited four major social channels over unethical practices on Black Friday

Ethical beauty brand Lush, famed for its eclectic bath bomb collection, is expected to be hit with a £10m loss in sales after quitting four major social media channels last week.

But boss Mark Constantine said that’s a price he’s willing to pay to improve the safety of his shoppers.

Speaking to The Guardian, the 69-year-old acknowledged the losses for turning his back on social, but insisted that he was “happy to lose £10m” for doing so.

The business committed the ultimate snub to the four major channels: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, by shutting down operations on the busiest shopping day of the season, Black Friday (26 November), but Constantine said he had “no choice”, after whistleblowers drew attention to the negative impacts of the platforms.

“We’ve tightened up over the Covid period, it won’t destroy us,” he added.

Lush will not longer operate on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok

Lush will not longer operate on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok

According to the publication, Constantine was concerned by leaked Facebook research, which revealed that its picture-sharing app Instagram made body image issues worse for teenage girls – a key consumer for Lush.

“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,” said Jack Constantine, Lush’s CDO & Product Inventor, in a statement released last week by the brand.

“Social media platforms have become the antithesis of this aim, with algorithms designed to keep people scrolling and stop them from switching off.”

For its final foray on Instagram, the brand uploaded a nine-post grid, which read ‘Be somewhere else’.

Lush will continue to operate on Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest, however.

The business has once before cut ties with a selection of social media channels, but returned to the platforms in 2020 in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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