23/06/2010
Lush won't cut 'nasty' ingredients
Despite describing parabens as “nasty things”, Lush won’t be removing the chemicals from their product 
range.
Parabens have been linked in some studies to breast cancer but Lush Director Karl Bygrave says the company are happy to use the preservative.
He said: “By their very nature parabens are nasty things but two of them are very mild and they are the two we use in very low quantities and not in all our products.
“Using our experience and knowledge we are happy to use methyl and propyl paraben but if customers don’t want parabens we have plenty of products without preservatives.”
Manufacturers are keen to continue using parabens because they are effective preservatives. Lush, who have just won their fifth award this year, are able to use smaller amounts because their products have a shelf life of only 14 months.
Beauty product retailer Holland and Barrett banned products containing parabens from their stores last October.
Store supervisor Nicola Simmons said: “We decided to ban parabens because of recent research that showed they are harmful to the body. Some of our own name products had to be stopped as well as other brand names.”
She added: “We will remain paraben-free unless research can prove they are definitely not harmful. Also our new range Dr Organics has been very popular and won a number of awards, in fact sales have increased in my store since the ban.”
Mr Bygrave said: “My personal response is that Holland and Barrett’s decision was a marketing response. At Lush we feel we would be pandering to the rumour mill if we removed parabens completely.”