25 Jul Poole Harbour Commissioners helps Lush reduce their carbon footprint
The month of July saw the Port of Poole welcome a sailboat carrying 6000 of Lush Cosmetics 100 % natural and biodegradable cork pots, as well as an abundance of Mediterranean ingredients found in Lush products. The arrival was part of Lush’s mission to reduce carbon emissions in its product line. After a 4-week journey from Portugal, the wind-powered sailing ship, the SV Gallant arrived at the busy port. This is an exciting development in Lush’s mission to become a regenerative business and off-set their carbon footprint through carbon neutral transport.
Poole Harbour Master, Captain Brian Murphy advised, Poole Harbour has many environmental designations including Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Ramsar sites and Special Protection Areas to protect wetlands and bird populations. With Poole Harbour being such an environmentally protected area, we were delighted to welcome the sailing vessel SV Gallant to the Port of Poole with its shipment of cork pots from Portugal bound for Lush HQ.
Its arrival caused quite a stir around the port and Poole Harbour Commissioners are always keen to support initiatives that benefit the environment of the beautiful harbour we all enjoy. To maximise the ECO friendliness of the operation the vessel arrived under sail, was discharged by hand and moved around the Port using a gas powered forklift.
With more than 20 years of experience in various fields of international buying, Agnes Gendry from the Lush Ethical buying Team stated the reason for the ongoing search for alternative shipping ways, “The message is quite simple: there is no time to waste, we absolutely all have to address the current environmental situation. We all have to be conscious, determined and imaginative and constantly looking for ways to reduce our impact.”
In terms of economic reasons in comparison to a motorized delivery Agnes Gendry explained, “Yes, obviously it is faster and, logistically, much easier to use a conventional ship rather than a sailboat. However, in an era of increasing environmental degradation we feel it is crucial to look at all possible solutions to reduce our environmental footprint. More than simply being a beautiful and nostalgic way to transport goods, sailing could be an emission-free alternative well worth revisiting. We hope to be able to have more sail ship deliveries over the next 12 months to start integrating this positive handling of freight into our regular practices.”