A TEENAGE farmer was banished from a LUSH store because it does not support “animal cruelty”.
The 17-year-old was dressed in his work jeans, work boots and a work hat that had the farm name and a picture of a cow on it. He was visiting the LUSH store in Woodland Mall, USA hoping to get a birthday present for his girlfriend.
He was approached by a shop assistant who asked him to leave the store immediately as LUSH does not support farmers and stands against any form of animal cruelty.
After the farmer attempted to clarify the situation and explained the level of care and nurture that goes into farming he was ignored and told that all farms are “evil”.
His mother, Leslie Van Houten Parrish, later started an online petition on Facebook in hope for people to see the cruel side of animal rights activists.
She wrote:
“So for all you LUSH employees I hope you don’t drink milk, soy or almond milk, eat ice-creams, cheese, yogurt, eggs, cereal, bread, pasta, steak, chicken or pork.
“Eat your vegetables or put your creamer in your coffee in Starbucks. Everything here is provided by a farmer. They work hard to provide for you and your customers, which keep you in business.
“And may be you don’t realise that the ingredients you user (soy yogurt and soy milk) in your products are available because of farmers.
“I supported your business because you didn’t test on animals. We treat our animals with love and respect. But I refuse to support you when you can’t support those who help to make your business profitable.
“This world needs farmers more than it needs bath bombs.”
The Lush spokesperson has responded to the claim stating:
“It is my understanding that the incident occurred in a LUSH store in North America, and the store and North America Retail Support team have been working together to address this incident and prevent anything similar from occurring again.
“To protect the privacy of the staff member in question, the store and Retail Support team are unable to share specifics in regards to action taken, however please be assured that this incident is being taken very seriously and is being appropriately addressed.”
LUSH is a global cosmetics retailer that supports animal rights movement. It is an advocate for cruelty-free cosmetics and stands against any form of animal abuse.
