High street beauty retailer Lush has reportedly ended its collaboration with Download Festival. The decision comes amid controversy surrounding the rock and metal festival’s policy on toilet facilities for transgender attendees. Download Festival is scheduled to take place at Donington Park, Leicestershire, next month.
The partnership, announced in May, saw Lush and Download Festival team up to create a limited-edition “festival-revival trio” kit. This exclusive kit included a “Circle Pit Bath Bomb,” “Download 22 Soap,” and “Ace of Sprays Body Spray,” designed for festival-goers from the mosh pit to their first wash back home. The products were available online and intended for sale at the Download megastore on-site between June 13-15. Lush’s Concepts and Collaborations Lead, Kalem Brinkworth, had stated the partnership was about “identity, belonging, and celebration,” noting a shared ethos of “challenging the status quo”.
However, controversy began after the festival organisers’ decision to align their toilet policy with interim guidance issued by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) on April 25. This guidance followed a UK Supreme Court ruling regarding the legal definition of “sex” in the 2010 Equality Act. Download’s policy stated: “We will be following the guidance issued by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) on 25 April, [which] states that trans women (biological men) should not be permitted to use the women’s facilities, and trans men (biological women) should not be permitted to use the men’s”.
This policy drew significant criticism from artists scheduled to perform at the festival. Singer Noahfinnce questioned the festival’s decision on Twitter, asking: “How have you got the gall to invite trans people like me to play your festival, then ban them from using the toilet? If the only way we can pss is by outing ourselves, then you’ve created an unsafe environment“. Other artists, including Zand, Pinkshift, and Witch Fever, also publicly criticised the policy, with Witch Fever calling it “a complete f**in’ tragedy”.
In response to the backlash, a spokesperson for the festival told PinkNews: “Download has always been, and remains, for everyone. At the heart of Download is acceptance. We stand with all members of our community and want everyone to feel safe, supported and welcome. We want to reassure all our customers that the majority of the toilets across the site are gender-neutral”.
The festival also apologised for previous unclear communication. Despite this, artists like Witch Fever and Zand argued the statement did not explicitly state whether the EHRC guidelines would still be followed for single-sex facilities. While it later emerged that the toilets would not be policed, the festival was criticised for not making this clearer in their public statement.
Ref Download and its trans exclusion policy…. Partner companies are pulling out. Just had this from Lush who had a partnership with the event. Thank you Lush Team for putting morals ahead of profits. ✊🏳️⚧️✊
— STRIVE (@strivecampaign.bsky.social) 29 May 2025 at 13:12
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Lush confirmed the termination of their partnership in an email shared on Bluesky by trans rights group Strive on May 29. A Lush representative was quoted as saying: “We are terminating our collaboration with this event, so we will no longer be participating”. Strive responded on the platform, praising Lush for “putting morals ahead of profits”. Links to the collaboration pages on both Lush’s and Download’s websites are reportedly no longer working, and Lush has removed a relevant page from its own site. The special edition products, including the bath bomb, body spray, and soap, also appear to have been removed from Lush’s online store.
Lush has a history of supporting the trans community, having recently partnered with trans-led groups TransActual and My Genderation to produce a free booklet and release a special edition Liberation bath bomb to raise money for these organisations. Lush, established in 1995, is known for its innovation, ethics, and campaigning heart, including its focus on combating over-packaging and supporting communities who value ethical practices.
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Image credits:
Sam Warrenger
Download / Lush
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