Let's start at the very beginning...

Doing 'Charitable Giving' in an organised / pubic way is quite a new thing for us here at Lush. Although we've supported various causes privately, it was only in the last couple of years that we introduced a more systematic approach to it.

Originally, we'd committed to donating between 1-2% of pre-tax profits per year, which came to approximately £200,000 for the 2006/2007 financial year. Now, £200,000 sounds like a substantial sum; and of course it is. But the more we thought about it, the more it became apparent that really, it wasn't enough. We wanted to be able to do more, GIVE more. And what better way to do this, that by doing what we do best? Create a beautiful, handmade product, give our customers the chance to buy it and then donate all the proceeds, bar the VAT (which must go to the government), to a selection of worthy causes. Which is how the Charity Pot came about.

We decided to use the money generated through the Charity Pot to fund projects with small, grassroots charities, non-violent direct action groups and other worthy causes where relatively small donations make a huge difference. In the months until the start of November, we have raised more than £100,000, which has been used to support 37 groups to date.

I hope to use this blog to keep our customers and supporters up to date with the Charity Pot initiative, as well as providing an insite into how we research and select groups. I'll be posting details on all the projects we've supported to date, as well as giving updates on the projects you as customers have helped to fund.

If you would like to recommend a charity for Charity Pot funding, or have questions regarding our charitable giving, send me an email at charitypot@lush.co.uk .

Night for now

Gabbi