Bethesda store gets naked for promotion

LUSH cosmetics touts minimal packaging
by Bradford Pearson | Staff Writer
Naomi Brookner/The Gazette

LUSH Cosmetics manager Carolynn Primeau stands in the company's Bethesda location wearing only her apron to protest the use of excessive packaging by other cosmetics companies.


Aug. 27 began like any other day for Carolynn Primeau.

She woke up, left her Ashburn, Va., home, and went to LUSH Cosmetics in Bethesda's Montgomery mall, where she works as store manager.

Then she took off all her clothes, threw on an apron, and stepped out into the store to greet customers, backside free for the world to see.

"My bum's a bit cold," the 21-year-old said, "and I feel kind of silly, but it's all for a good cause."

That cause prompted LUSH employees in stores nationwide to lose their clothing and don an apron that read "Ask me why I'm naked."

LUSH employees protested the use of excessive packaging by other companies, and tried to highlight the store's use of minimal paper to store their products instead of gaudy, non-biodegradable boxes and bottles.

The event was voluntary for all employees, and two of the four employees during the midday shift at LUSH's Bethesda location partook in the festivities.

But not everyone appreciated the stunt.

The mall received two complaints about the event, according to Katy Dickey, a spokeswoman for Westfield, the shopping center's parent company.

The store was asked to shut down the derriere displays, Dickey said.

"Westfield believed it was inappropriate because of its location, and the center as a family destination," she said.

Passing customers expressed looks of astonishment, and double takes were the norm for the half-hour of the display. At least one man stood leering into the store from across the mall, and another woman asked a friend, "Does she know?"

"I think she knows," the friend replied.

One customer, though, wasn't as standoffish.

"I just thought it was hysterical," said Berdina Henry of Takoma Park.

While Henry added that she thought the event was "gimmicky," she said once she entered the store, the employees explained the reason for it.

There were no complaints of the event to Montgomery County Police, according to police spokeswoman Officer Tenesha Jensen. She said in order for someone to be arrested for indecent exposure, a complaint would have to be filed.

Indecent exposure, a misdemeanor, is punishable by up to three years in jail, a $1,000 fine, or both, Jensen said.

For the store employees, the message behind the event was the most important thing.

"Over-packaging is one of the leading causes of our environmental problems," said Natalie Amin, who also wore just an apron for the protest. "It might seem like a small change [to switch to less packaging], but it makes a big difference."

According to LUSH spokeswoman Jennifer Graybeal, the event took place in LUSH stores worldwide.