Lush Cosmetics on Tuesday announced
that it had sold 100,000 limited edition #GayIsOk soaps, raising
$425,000 for LGBT rights.
The #GayIsOk campaign encouraged
customers to purchase and pose with a bar of Love Soap – a gold bar
stamped with #GayIsOk – on social media with the hashtag #GayIsOk.
The week-long campaign resulted in over
40 million uses of the #GayIsOk hashtag.
The $425,000 raised – $40,000 more
than originally hoped – will be distributed as grants to grassroots
organizations around the globe fighting for equal rights, with the
lion's share ($78,535) going to LGBT rights advocate All Out, which
worked with Lush on the campaign.
“Time and again we've seen how, with
enough resources, activists do incredible work to change laws and
shift hearts and minds towards full equality,” said Andre Banks,
executive director and co-founder of All Out. “Too often, activists
are isolated and underfunded, but the #GayIsOK campaign has brought a
massive new audience to their work and also crucial funds to help
them succeed.”
Founded in 1995 in Poole, UK, Lush has
grown to over 800 stores in 51 countries.