In a company statement, the business said: “Across the Lush business we share the anguish that millions of people feel seeing the images of starving people in Gaza, Palestine. Like the rest of the world, we struggle to find ways we can help whilst the Israeli government is preventing urgent humanitarian assistance from entering Gaza.’
The company explained that this protest would take the form of halting business-as-usual by shutting its UK shops, website and factories for one day on Wednesday 3rd September 2025.
While the retail operations were closed, its store windows also displayed the message ‘Stop starving Gaza – we are closed in solidarity."
Watermelon soap its “most successful fundraising product”
The company apologised to its customers for the inconvenience of shutting retail operations. However it also said that it knew many of its customers shared its anxiety about the current events in Gaza.
“Our fundraising soap, Watermelon Slice, has been the most successful single issue fundraising product in the history of Lush, indicating how strongly our customers feel and we are grateful to have been able to raise funds towards child mental health support in Palestine,” said the business.
Lush now plans to make this soap available again and will donate the funds to medical services, such as charities that will provide prosthetic limb services to people who have been injured in Gaza.
“Whilst Lush is losing a day of takings, this also means that the UK Government is losing a day of tax contributions from Lush and our customers,” the company said in its statement.
“We hope they too hear the message our closure sends, with more Government action needed to bring an immediate stop to the death and destruction, including an end to arms sales from the UK.”