Kes me oleme

Mark Constantine co founded Lush with five friends and creative confidants in 1995 after the collapse of previous mail order business Cosmetics To Go. Mark has been a key driving force behind the business for 25 years and also works as part of the product development team creating hair, skincare and body creams as well as decadent Lush spa treatments.

Challenging the business to create fresh, innovative and anarchic cosmetic products, it is some of Mark’s beliefs that Lush is based on and that have become the backbone of the company. Lush’s stringent and pioneering ‘against animal testing policy’ is just one example of how his strong beliefs have transformed the cosmetics industry – he introduced a Supplier Specific Boycott Policy, which means that Lush will not buy any ingredient from any supplier that tests any of its materials on animals for any purpose. This policy is unique in its field and is different and distinct from the Fixed Cut-Off Date policy employed by the Humane Cosmetics Standard.

Mark’s plight against over packaging in the cosmetic industry is another. In the Channel 4 documentary ‘The Insider: Packaging is Rubbish,’ Mark highlighted just how much waste the average British citizen goes through in a lifetime and exactly where it ends up – in landfill. This is why the majority of Lush products are designed to be solid and can be sold without packaging.

In the 2010 Queen’s New Years Honours list Mark and his wife Mo Constantine both received OBEs for their services to the beauty industry. Mark has been named five times since 2010 as one of London’s ‘1000 Most Influential People’ in the Environment and Business Brains categories by The Evening Standard newspaper. In 2015 Mark was named in BBC Wildlife magazine as one of the 50 most influential people in British wildlife.

Mark’s enduring love and enthusiasm for his work, as well as the beauty and retail industries, remain at the heart of his determination to make Lush the company we all want it to be.

Mo Constantine: Kaasasutajaks, toodete leiutajaks, tootmisjuhiks ja vannipommi ja šampoonibaaride peamurdjaks!

Mo alustas oma tööelu juriidilise sekretärina, kuid tema karjäär (ja meie vannitoa riiulid) muutusid helgemaks, kui ta hakkas huvituma uuest looduskosmeetikast. Kaheksakümnendate lõpus leiutas Mo uusi põnevaid kontseptsioone postimüügifirma Cosmetics to Go jaoks. Siin hakkas Mo, kes sai koolitust tuntud kosmeetikauurija Stan Kryztali käe all, spetsialiseeruma tahkete, konserveerimata ja pakendamata toodete leiutamisele. 1988. aastal sai ta esimese patendi, milleks oli ülipopulaarne tahke šampoonibaar. Sellest ajast alates on Mo loonud mõned kõige meeldejäävamad ja loomingulisemad tooted, millest kõige kuulsam on maailma esimene Bath Bomb. Mo leiutas koos keemik Staniga ka esimese valatava seebialuse ning läks seejärel sammu võrra edasi ja sõnastas uuesti palmiõlivaba seebialuse.

Nüüd võib Mo't sageli leida High Street 29 asuvas laboris või (lukustamise ajal) perekonna kodu kõrval asuvas varjualuses, kus ta koos Claire'i ja Jackiga valmistab vaagnaid auravate seebiideedega või tolmuseid kausid erksavärviliste vannisegudega. Kui Mo ei ole seal, siis külastab ta tõenäoliselt ühte seitsmest rahvusvahelisest tootmisüksusest, mis tema sõnul toodab käsitsi valmistatud tooteid, tagades samal ajal suurepärase värskuse ja kvaliteedi.

Tutvuge Rowena Birdiga, ühe Lush'i kaasasutaja ja paljude kirgede naisega.

"Ma töötan ostumeeskonnas, uues klienditeenindusmeeskonnas ja salajase ostmise meeskonnas, istun juhatuses, aitan luua aknaid, torkan oma nina eetika/keskkonnaalastele koosolekutele, Black Lives Matteri koosolekutele, leiutan tooteid, istun meigitiimi ääres, olen kirglik meie partnerite edu suhtes ja mul on arvamus peaaegu kõigest, mis on seotud Lushiga, sest ma armastan meie ettevõtet kirglikult."

Ja pole ime, et Rowena nii tunneb, sest ta on olnud Lushis esimesest päevast saadik ja tegelikult isegi enne seda! "Ma liitusin Marki, Mo & Liziga 7. septembril 1981, tihedalt järgnesid Helen, siis Karl ja Paul, nii et olen nendega kõigiga koos töötanud juba 39 aastat!"

Alustades oma ametialast karjääri iluteraapiaõpetajana, kolis Rowena Northamptonshire'ist Poole'i, kuna ta on alati tahtnud mere ääres elada. Nendel algusaegadel, enne Lush'i, nagu me seda teame, toetas Rowena ettevõtet igal võimalikul viisil - henna segamine, arvete trükkimine, juuste pesemine Marki trikoloogiakliinikus oli kõik tööde nimekirjas. "Kohanemisvõime oli üks minu võtmeoskusi ja 39 aasta jooksul olen voolanud läbi ettevõtte, otsides võimalusi, luues katalooge, leiutades pakendeid, kirjutades koopiaid, tehes kõike, mida on vaja teha."

Selline suhtumine töösse on tähendanud seda, et Rowena on võtnud vastu palju võimalusi, sealhulgas (kuid neid on liiga palju, et neid siin üles lugeda!) meigibrändi B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful käivitamine, Lush'i võtmepoodide avamine, peaaegu kõigi meie partneriturgude külastamine ja ärisuuna loomine koos oma juhatuse liikmetega.

As Product Inventor for Lush, Helen Ambrosen enjoys exploiting the link between food and cosmetics – for which her specialist knowledge of raw ingredients has proved invaluable. Helen is responsible for the company’s highly innovative range of ultra fresh products, which are made daily using fresh, organic produce and sold in-store where they are kept on ice. Helen also has two patented product categories to her credit – solid bath oils and bath melts.

Paul Greeves is our International Man of Mystery. Little is known about Paul, one of Lush’s original Co Founders but we take it on excellent authority from people in the know that he has worked in many departments in Lush, showcasing his talent, over the years.

Legend has it Paul joined Lush as a bio-chemist, to run the Lush labs and since then has headed up mail order, data security and even the Lush Times.

“Liz Bennett and I worked together all of her working life except for one month. She believed in teaching and nurturing and I believed in natural talent. As a consequence I learnt so much from her and she had to suffer me. Because we were both obsessed with beauty and hair and couldn’t find effective enough products that matched our customers’ needs we worked and worked on our formulas. Everyone who visited our herbal hair and beauty salon in those early days was experimented on without knowing it. If we travelled together on the train and an unsuspecting passenger fell asleep facing us we would discuss their hair and skin in muted tones.

We gave hundreds of talks together before we even started working alongside The Body Shop. She could give advice on my stuff, and me on hers as we worked together so well.

When I think back our dreams in those days have been surpassed so many times over but her standards have not. She was an example for anyone wanting to start and run a company run by and predominantly staffed by women. Today I see her influence everywhere even though she will never again take someone to one side to discuss their personal hygiene. She was kind and unassuming, balanced and considerate, outspoken to the point that I would think something and hear her say it. I hated it when she retired and miss her now she has gone. It’s the stupid things... She worried so much about a pension when we were twenty not knowing that with her talent we would do so well that her future would be much brighter and more secure than she could have imagined. I find it hard to believe that we will get together in the lab this Christmas Eve and she won’t be there. We will lift a glass of grog to her and miss her dreadfully.”

~ Mark Constantine