Green Company Profile: Lush Cosmetics |Retrodiva's Beauty Bar

No doubt about it, Lush is my favorite "green" company. You really can't turn around in my house without bumping into something made by Lush: we have bath bombs, shampoo, shower gel, lotion, cuticle cream, shaving cream, lip balms, and a huge basket of other stuff too. I've never been unhappy with a Lush purchase, and I always make a point of stopping in anytime I'm in a city that is lucky enough to have one.
But what are they really all about, other than fantastic-smelling products? From their website:

We believe in making effective products out of fresh organic* fruit and vegetables, the finest essential oils and safe synthetics, without animal ingredients, and in writing the quantitative list on the outside.

We also believe in buying only from companies that test for safety without the involvement of animals and in testing our products on humans.

We believe in making our own fresh* products by hand, printing our own labels and making our own fragrances.

We believe in long candlelit baths, massage, filling the house with perfume and in the right to make mistakes, lose everything and start again.

We believe that our products should be good value, that we make a profit and that the customer is always right.

*We also believe words like "fresh" and "organic" have honest meaning beyond marketing.

And be sure to check out their very informative page on the ingredients they use.
It would be impossible to get together a wish list, because really, I'd like one of everything please, thank you. But, since it's Earth Day, I thought I'd focus on one product that gives back.

Charity Pot is a body lotion made from natural oils and fair trade cocoa butter, and is scented with ylang ylang, geranium, and marigold. But the best part about this cream is the good it does. According to Lush, "Every penny of the retail price (excluding taxes) goes directly into a charitable fund to support animal rights, environmental protection and humanitarian concerns."
And really, if you need something else to buy, here are my top five.