Limited Edition Soap Urges Action with Secret Message

LIMITED EDITION SOAP URGES ACTION WITH SECRET MESSAGE

Global—Access Now joined Lush Cosmetics in launching the next stage of the worldwide #KeepitOn campaign to fight internet shutdowns with a limited edition “bath bomb” called “Error 404.” The #KeepItOn campaign is featured on Lush.com in 6 languages, 40 countries, and in hundreds of stores across the world. Below is a selection of social media highlights from the campaign launch, which has featured everything from creative short videos to poems and in-store actions.

Lush blacked out its websites around the world on Black Friday, giving users a taste of a shutdown and urging them to take action

Lush Japan revealed the secret message hidden in each bath bomb

Blogger Pyter Pack composed a short creative video about shutdowns

Artist Joey Brannigan composed a poem inspired by internet shutdowns

Shoppers at Lush in Budapest took action in-store with a petition

Influencers received a temporary Snapchat filter that simulates a shutdown

Profits from the sale of the Error 404 bath bomb, which customers can purchase at Lush.com and participating Lush stores starting on November 25, 2016, will go towards a Digital Fund that will be used to support the campaign and digital rights activists around the globe. Customers will also be invited to take action by signing a petition at accessnow.org/keepiton asking world leaders to keep the internet on. “Error 404” refers to the common error code that internet users see when they reach a web page that doesn’t exist or is no longer available.

“We’re thrilled that Lush -- a company passionately devoted to social justice -- has thrown its energy behind this timely and important campaign,” said Deji Bryce Olukotun, Senior Global Advocacy Manager at Access Now. “Internet shutdowns are early warning signs of atrocities. They block emergency services and prevent people from communicating with their loved ones. They also harm economies -- shutdowns are like avalanches that shear through the foundation for economic growth, wrecking lives and businesses along the way. ”

“As the internet becomes a more integral part of our daily lives, we need to protect these newly forming rights and ensure a fair and equal internet for all,” said Jack Constantine, Chief Digital Officer at Lush.

A #KeepitOn campaign video is available here

Access Now has documented more than 50 internet shutdowns in 2016 alone, up from under 20 in 2015. In June, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution that specifically condemns internet shutdowns. The Global Network Initiative also joined the Telecommunications Industry Dialogue — which together include Facebook, Google, Microsoft, AT&T, and Vodafone — to speak out against shutdowns. This bold statement was swiftly followed by a statement from the GSMA, one of the world’s largest technology associations, that laid out strict standards for orders issued to telcos to restrict service.

Lush held in-store events on Black Friday with #KeepitOn campaign partners Social Media Exchange (Beirut), Ipandetec (Panama City), Internet Sans Frontières (Paris), and Digital Rights Watch Australia (Melbourne). There were additional events featuring Access Now staff in New York and Brussels. On the final day of the campaign (Wednesday, December 7, 2016), signed petitions from the online action will be delivered to government leaders at the Internet Governance Forum, where U.N. delegates will be gathering in Guadalajara, Mexico to discuss the future of the open internet. More than 3,000 participants from around the world will join the meeting, making this a critical moment to urge leaders to speak out against internet shutdowns.

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About Lush - Since establishing 21 years ago, Lush has been driven by innovation and its ethics. Creators of pioneering beauty products such as the fizzing bath bomb, shower jellies, and solid shampoo bars, Lush places emphasis on fresh ingredients like organic fruits and vegetables. Lush fights tirelessly against animal testing and operates a thoroughly comprehensive Ethical Buying department, supporting Fair Trade and Community Trade initiatives. Lush leads the cosmetics industry in combating over-packaging by running public awareness campaigns and developing products that can be sold “naked” to the consumer without any packaging.

Lush Digital contributes to and is part of the global open source software community, striving to ensure they use only ethically sourced and powered hardware and take a strong ethical stance on how data should be used and control of privacy given back to the user. Lush has been awarded the RSPCA Good Business Award for 2006, 2007, and 2009, along with the 2006 PETA Trailblazer Award for Animal Welfare. Co-founders Mark and Mo Constantine were awarded OBEs for services to the beauty industry in the new year’s honours list 2010. Lush was the winner of the Best in Business Award at the 2014 Observer Ethical Awards, World’s Most Ethical Retailer at the 2016 World Retail Congress and the shops and website are regularly voted at the top of Which? magazine’s customer service surveys.

Today Lush operates in 47 countries with 932 shops, 38 websites shipping worldwide and a global network of native apps, broadcasting channels and digital communities in over 30 languages. www.lush.com

About Access Now - Access Now defends and extends the digital rights of users at risk around the world. By combining innovative policy, global advocacy, and direct technical support, we fight for open and secure communications for all. Access Now was founded in 2009 by Brett Solomon and Cameran Ashraf, after the contested Iranian presidential election of that year. During the protests that followed this election, Access Now played a role in disseminating the video footage which came out of Iran.

Today Access Now is a team of 40, with local staff in more than 10 locations around the world -- Berlin, Brussels, Cordoba, Delhi, London, Manila, Nairobi, New York, San Jose, Tunis, and Washington D.C. The organization maintains four legally incorporated entities -- Belgium, Costa Rica, Tunisia, and the United States -- with its tech, advocacy, policy, granting, and operations teams distributed across all regions. Access Now operates a 24/7 Digital Security Helpline that offers real-time, direct assistance and advice to activists, independent media, and civil society organizations globally.

The organization also runs the annual RightsCon conference, a multistakeholder event that features participants from civil society, tech companies, and users at risk. Access Now is a member of Best Bits, Coalition Against Unlawful Surveillance Exports, Dynamic Coalition on Network Neutrality, EDRi, Global Net Neutrality Coalition, International Corporate Accountability Roundtable, Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, U.S. Privacy Coalition, RedLatAm, Save the Internet – E.U., ShareAction, and Stop Watching Us. We are a signatory to the International Principles on the Application of Human Rights to Communications Surveillance; support Digital Citizen; participate in the Freedom Online Coalition Working Groups; and coordinate as part of the Civil Society CERT, a Trusted Introducer accredited CERT.

Access Now also has special consultative status at the United Nations.

Access Now was a finalist for the 2010 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, was awarded a Knight Prototype Fund grant in 2013, and in 2015, we were nominated for the Human Rights Tulip Award by David Kaye, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on freedom of speech and expression.

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