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Why Human Hands Still Matter- A Conversation with Alice Champion, Head of Retail Operations Australia & Aotearoa at LUSH on Ethics, Craft and the Future of Beauty
- Style Essentials Edit Team
- 14 hours ago
- 8 min read
At a time when beauty is increasingly defined by automation, algorithms, and hyper-engineered formulations, LUSH continues to operate at a different tempo altogether. Known for its fresh, handmade products, outspoken ethical stance, and refusal to conform to industry norms, the brand has long positioned human effort and accountability at the center of its practice.
For this email interview, Style Essentials speaks with Alice Champion, Head of Retail Operations Australia & Aotearoa at LUSH, in a conversation led by Alisha M. The exchange explores the philosophy behind handmade beauty, small-batch manufacturing in Australia, the ethics of scaling a global brand, and the emergence of transparency as a luxury standard. The discussion also touches on LUSH’s community-led initiatives, innovation culture, and its recent re-entry into the Indian market.
Lush has a very distinct personality—playful, ethical, and handmade. How would you describe the soul of the brand in your own words?
Lush’s soul is joyful, compassionate, and rebellious. It brings together playfulness with strong ethical conviction and a genuine love for real, living ingredients. At its heart, it is about people making people-care products by hand, using the freshest ethically sourced ingredients. Honesty in what goes into each product, integrity towards animals, people, and the planet, and a celebration of human creativity and care define who we are.
What was the original inspiration behind creating products that are fresh, handmade, and crafted in small batches?
The inspiration came from dissatisfaction with the status quo. Conventional cosmetics felt sterile, chemical-heavy, and mass-produced, often packaged more for marketing than substance. As Mark, one of the founders, explained, the aim was to offer something natural, fresh, and of good value, not slick branding. The idea was to create beauty products that felt wholesome and honest, closer to cooking or crafting than industrial manufacturing.
In a world of high-tech beauty, why does the brand continue to believe in the luxury of human hands and artisanal creation?
Not everything that is valuable is synthetic or machine-made. Handmade, small-batch production allows for care, individuality, and freshness in ways mass production cannot replicate. True quality comes from human attention rather than automation. Making products by hand also allows them to remain fresh, use fewer preservatives, and deliver ingredients when they are most effective.
When you say handmade, what does that process actually look like inside your Australian production space?
In Australia, we manufacture at our factory in Sydney, which looks more like a working kitchen than a traditional factory. Our skilled compounders, essentially our product chefs, chop, juice, whisk, blend, press, shape, and wrap products by hand. Each batch is individually prepared, labelled with the name and photograph of the person who made it, and stamped with a clear “made on” date so customers know exactly when it was crafted. We have also started offering factory tours.
What does “luxury” mean to you, beyond price, in the context of handmade beauty?
Luxury means authenticity, transparency, conscience, and care. It's about knowing that what you use is fresh, ethically sourced, made with care, and has little waste or preservatives. Luxury becomes a sensory, emotional, and moral experience, from the scent of essential oils to the feel of handmade soap and the knowledge that fair trade, cruelty-free practices, and small-batch creation are being supported. We intentionally reduce the amount of packaging to ensure the quality of our products remains as luxurious as possible.
Is there a product or category that best showcases the brand’s craftsmanship and attention to detail?
It is difficult to choose with so many creations, but fresh face masks capture the handmade spirit of Lush beautifully. They were innovations pioneered by the brand and remain signature offerings. Made fresh every week and kept refrigerated, they showcase a simple yet luxurious craft, turning skincare into a slower, more considered personal ritual rather than something rushed. Our continued innovation in this category sets us apart.
Lush is known for using fresh, natural ingredients. What goes into choosing and sourcing these for the Australian market?
Ingredients are selected based on freshness, ethical sourcing, and alignment with our fair trade or community trade values. Organic options are chosen wherever possible, and we work only with suppliers who respect people, the environment, and animal welfare, never those that test on animals. We also aim to minimize travel time and storage, as ingredients that travel less tend to retain better nutrient quality.
How do ingredients shape not just a product, but a luxury experience?
Ingredients are the heart of both the sensory and ethical experience. When you feel a rich butter or breathe in an essential oil, you sense craft, care, and nature’s vitality. When those ingredients are fresh, ethically sourced, and handled by human hands, the experience gains depth and meaning. You know you are using something real, alive, and made with integrity.
Is there a single ingredient or fragrance story that feels especially close to the brand’s heart?
Rather than a single ingredient, it is the philosophy of using fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and essential oils wherever possible that matters most. That commitment to real botanical ingredients over over processed chemicals lies closest to Lush’s heart. This year marks 30 years of Lush and 30 years of Karma perfume. To celebrate, Lush designer Tamsin Thomas created a limited-edition design inspired by Karma bottles of the past and the patterns of the 1970s. The flowing lines mirror the way the fragrance notes blend together. This iconic scent has seen many reinterpretations, but its signature blend of groovy patchouli, uplifting citrus, and warming spices have remained unchanged since 1995. It takes you back to Kensington High Street in the 1970s, surrounded by people ready to change the world. If that free-spirited energy feels distant, a spritz of Karma is enough to take you there.
Lush has always balanced tradition with innovation. How do you keep creativity alive while staying true to your roots?
We keep creativity alive by maintaining handmade, ethical, small-batch production as our core principle and using that foundation to experiment with new formats such as solid shampoos, shower jellies, and bath bombs. Our “We Believe” values act as guardrails. Within those boundaries, there is freedom to innovate, respond to customer needs, and adapt to changing times. We have never removed values from our We Believe statement; we have only added to it.
Can you share any exciting new launches or initiatives?
Lush is launching a Keystone Giving product that funds protection corridors for wildlife in Cameroon. Inspired by keystone species, which play a vital role in maintaining biodiversity, 75 percent of the sales price of Elephant Jelly, excluding tax, will go to Working For The Wild. The initiative supports the protection and restoration of 52,000 hectares, creating an essential wildlife corridor for African forest elephants and other threatened mammals. This work is being carried out with the African Conservation Foundation and the Environment and Rural Development Foundation, addressing biodiversity protection, human-wildlife conflict, and supporting eight community enterprises offering alternative livelihoods. As one Deng community leader shared, “Before, we saw the forest only as a source of wood. Now we see it as a source of life, income, and pride.”
What inspires your product innovation most strongly?
Seasonality, customer needs, and creative experimentation all play a role. We aim to make products for every need, not simply follow trends, and often invent new categories when those needs arise. We listen closely to our staff and customers. As a part-employee-owned business, our teams play an important role in our success, and when they fall in love with a product, that enthusiasm naturally carries through to customers.
Ethical values are integral to your identity. How do they shape the way you create and grow?
They guide everything, from vegetarian, cruelty-free, and ethically sourced raw materials to handmade production in Sydney, small batches, freshness, transparent labelling, minimal packaging, and activism. Ethics are not an add-on for us; they are fundamental. They shape our product, our processes, and our purpose, and they will always be our driving force.
Why do you think today’s luxury consumers gravitate towards transparent, purpose-driven brands?
People want more than surface-level glamour. They want authenticity, values, and meaning. Knowing that a product is ethically made, fresh, transparent about ingredients and impact, and created by real people rather than faceless factories builds trust and emotional connection. In a world overloaded with mass-produced goods that transparency itself feels like a luxury.
Lush stores are famously sensory and immersive. What should customers feel the moment they walk in?
They should feel welcomed, delighted, and at home, as though they have stepped into a space where creativity, color, and care come together. Customers should immediately sense the human energy behind the products, smell fresh ingredients and essential oils, and know that everything they see, touch, and breathe has been crafted with care and conscience. Our staff, who are truly our day makers, should transform a boutique into a joyful, conscious playground for self-care.
How does the Australian community influence your collections and retail formats?
While the core vision remains global, manufacturing in Sydney and our local workforce shape how products are distributed and delivered, influencing freshness, packaging, and sometimes ingredient sourcing. Handmade production supports local jobs and allows us to respond quickly and ethically to the Australian market. We have also seen strong local success with gourmand ranges, with Let the Good Times Roll body spray leading the trend locally before its wider viral moment.
What exciting plans can you share regarding expansion or new territories?
Guided by our Secret Lush Master plan, we continue to focus on making products for every need, striving to lead every category and build a cosmetics revolution rooted in ethics and handmade craft. Lush has also re-entered the Indian market in late 2025, beginning with an online launch in November, followed by physical stores in major cities including Delhi Select City Walk, Mumbai and Bengaluru, targeting the growing premium beauty segment.
How do you envision the future of handmade beauty in global luxury?
Handmade beauty will increasingly be recognized as a beacon of authenticity. As demand for transparency, sustainability, and real quality grows, small-batch, human-made cosmetics will be respected as true luxury. The future is about conscious consumption: fewer products, made better, with integrity.
What do you want the brand to be known for in the next ten years?
Lush aims to be recognized as the world’s leading ethical, transparent, handmade beauty brand, proving that luxury, freshness, ethics, and social conscience can exist together without compromise.
On a personal note, what is your favorite Lush product, and why?
Choosing one feels almost impossible, but currently it is the Super Milk shampoo and conditioner. I first fell in love with the fragrance through our viral primer, but the shampoo itself contains over 18 percent fresh tofu and strengthening oils that keep my long hair healthy and lustrous. I am passionate about scalp care, and the meadowsweet infusion, rich in naturally exfoliating salicylic acid, leaves my scalp feeling clean and clear. Paired with the conditioner, which contains over 65 percent softening agar seaweed and protein-rich fresh tofu, it delivers shine, reduces flyaway, and improves tensile strength. My hair has genuinely never looked better.
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