Husband and wife team Mark and Mo Constantine were part of a group who co-founded what would become Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics in their kitchen workshop in 1995. Now a family-run global chain with hundreds of stores all over the world, the ultimate beauty delicatessen is still run out of the original shop in Poole in Dorset with many of the same staff who came on the journey with them.

There are now 106 shops in the UK and over 900 worldwide in 49 countries – from Japan to Brazil.

The deeply-held values of sustainability and animal welfare have earned Lush a reputation for being uncompromisingly ethical. They won’t sell their products in China because animal testing of cosmetics in mandatory in the country. And the real reason the stores can be smelled from at least 100 yards away is that hardly any packaging is used – out of principle, rather than design.

But they don’t shout about any of this, they’ve been quietly getting on with it for years, whilst using their profits to fund activism for animal welfare. They are purpose-driven heroes of the highest order who are proving that values and profit don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Plus, they pioneered the fizzing bath bomb. What’s not to love?

AtlasAction: Learn more about Lush’s Charity Pot for grassroots organisations.

Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics was mapped by Louise Ash in her AtlasChart: 5 projects with Meaning. 

Accidental ethical business geek Louise Ash is the organiser of Meaning conference – a way of sharing stories about what happens when business is brave enough to think differently.