Lush Cosmetics once again joins Shark Savers on the campaign to ban the shark fin trade and consumption, following our successful collaboration in Hong Kong. The campaign will last a week, beginning August 22. In California, Lush and Shark Savers will work together to increase awareness and support for AB 376, the bill to ban the shark fin trade. In the remainder of the United States and Canada, we will similarly increase awareness of the issue as well as gather petition signatures to support future initiatives to ban the shark fin trade in other states and provinces.
Visit Lush and see their campaign page, here.
Here is Lush's press release:
For Immediate Release
August 22, 2011
LUSH Press Office Contact:
Brandi Halls, 917.324.8570, brandi@lush.com
New York – As the world’s shark populations teeter on the brink of extinction due to the global demand for shark fin soup and other shark products, LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics in partnership with Shark Savers, launches a global campaign to protect these crucially important marine animals. This campaign is running at all LUSH’s locations in North America.
For one week starting August 22nd, LUSH is inviting the public down to its North American stores to sign petitions to their local government officials, demanding that they outlaw the possession, sale, trade, and distribution of shark fins. In partnership with marine conservation organization Shark Savers, LUSH is also asking the public to pledge not to eat shark fin soup. And in a dramatic illustration of how sharks are caught on longlines and slaughtered for their fins, a LUSH employee will be suspended by shark hooks inside a San Francisco LUSH store on Wednesday, August 24th at 12pm PST (images available upon request).
To further efforts, LUSH has created a limited edition product, Shark Fin Soap ($5.95) with 100% of the proceeds going to Shark Savers’ work to raise awareness for shark conservation. This ocean inspired soap, with its decorative paper fin, is packed with seaweed and sea salt and will be available at www.lushusa.com and at LUSH stores across North America for the duration of the campaign.
Sharks have survived for 450 million years but many species are now threatened with extinction. Tens of millions of sharks are killed each year to serve the global shark fin trade. While shark fin soup is the primary cause for the slaughter, sharks are also killed for their flesh, cartilage and for their oil, which can be used in cosmetics. The growing demand for shark fin soup has increased the slaughter of sharks to such a great extent that many shark populations have declined by over 90% in just a few decades. Sharks have shaped marine life in the oceans for hundreds of millions of years and are essential to the health of our oceans, which are the lifeblood of our planet.
"Shark fin soup provides no real benefit to people but has been devastating to sharks and the oceans. Sharks are too important to let this continue,” says Michael Skoletsky, Executive Director of Shark Savers. “Shark Savers' Ban the Fin campaign enables people throughout the United States and Canada to work towards banning the shark fin trade in their communities.”
“With shark populations being decimated, the situation is dire. As a company that cares about people, animals and the planet, we are taking a stand to stop this slaughter before it’s too late,” says Brandi Halls, LUSH Campaigns Manager. “Each of us has the ability to bring about real change, to protect sharks and ultimately our marine ecosystems – the time to act is now.”
For more information on the campaign please visit www.lush.com/stopsharkfinning or www.sharksavers.org.
* Sharks are being driven to extinction
+ “Bleeding the Oceans Dry?” at www.wildaid.org
