NEW YORK CITY — Towing her pink tulle gown’s train in hand, transgender advocate Dylan Mulvaney graced the stage to host Lush’s Resist Ball — a ball created by the vegan cosmetics brand for the changemakers. The discussions of the night focused on transgender rights, persisting impacts of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre and gun violence prevention.

The Resist Ball was one of few brand partnerships Mulvaney felt comfortable pursuing since her controversial Bud Light collaboration catalyzed a boycott led by the beer brand’s conservative consumers in 2023. The partnership included a sparkly rose Late Bloomer Bath Bomb Mulvaney designed with Lush to raise money for transgender advocacy organizations. 

“I’ve been a little less likely to jump on any campaign these days,” Mulvaney, whose citrus-scented bath bomb has raised $30,000 for trans-led organizations so far, told Campaign. “But it feels like the universe, or God or whatever, is orchestrating all of this and really wanted me to have this full-circle moment.”

Mulvaney, who was raised “in a pretty conservative Catholic family,” worked part-time at Lush when she was 16 and said “Lush was one of the only places I felt safe as a queer kid — all the women and queer people who worked there made me feel like I could be myself.” 

Confirming Mulvaney’s sentiments, last Thursday’s Resist Ball was an event for changemakers to freely express themselves and causes they champion for — and spotlighted Lush’s unique strategy of centering changemakers such as Mulvaney in campaigns to progress political and social causes.

60 female and non-binary singers of the Resistance Revival Chorus materialized from event’s crowd to harmonize a medley of their songs, “This Joy” and “Joy in Resistance.” Credit: Lush

Soapbox Session

The main event of Lush’s Resist Ball was its Soapbox Session panel, where activists Manuel Oliver of Change the Ref, Damario Solomon-Simmons of Justice for Greenwood and Danielle Silber of the American Civil Liberties Union spoke about the roots of their respective causes with Lush’s advocacy and activism manager Carleen Pickard, who began her career as an activist and nonprofit organizer.

From left to right: Danielle Silber of the American Civil Liberties Union; Damario Solomon-Simmons of Justice for Greenwood; Manuel Oliver of Change the Ref; and Lush’s advocacy and activism manager Carleen Pickard. Credit: Lush

Oliver, who took the mic first, has championed gun violence prevention and defunding the National Rifle Association alongside his wife, Patricia Padauy-Oliver, since losing their 17-year-old son, Joaquin Oliver, in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018. He explained the Joaquin Oliver v. USA’s Lawsuit for Survival — a landmark case on behalf of the Oliver family accusing the U.S. government of prioritizing Second Amendment rights over human rights and causing Joaquin’s death.

“The day we lost Joaquin, he did not lose his parents,” Manuel Oliver told the Resist Ball crowd. 

To Oliver’s right was attorney Solomon-Simmons, who represents survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre — believed to be the worst incident of racial violence in history — and founded grassroots organization Justice for Greenwood to advocate for justice and reparations for Tulsa Massacre survivors and descendants. 

Solomon-Simmons’ vouches for implementing justice through legal and legislative change were echoed by Silber, who’s helped organize 53 immigrant rights, transgender justice and reproductive freedom-focused cases against President Donald Trump’s administration since the beginning of his second term. 

Patricia Oliver designed the “Sonflower” bath bomb as a “symbol of love” to remember her son, Joaquin. Credit: Lush

Following the panel, Padauy-Oliver joined her husband on stage, holding the sunflower shaped Sonflower Bath Bomb she and Manuel Oliver designed. The bath bomb was for Lush and Change the Ref’s Bloom a New Day campaign to raise support for the Lawsuit for Survival. First launched at this year’s South by Southwest, the bath bomb donates 75% of its sales to organizations devoted to ending gun violence.

Planting the seeds for change

The Olivers parked their yellow school bus in Austin, Texas, for SXSW last month — one stop on their nationwide gun violence awareness tour to over two dozen locations, including the United Nations and U.S. Capitol. The renovated bus has the couple’s motorcycle strapped to the back for quick side quests and a hood ornament of Joaquin with angel wings.

Caption: The Olivers called their school bus, which they drive to cities impacted by mass shootings, a “revolution on wheels.” Credit: Lush

Manuel Oliver recalled that during a stop in Washington, DC, a protester tore the angel wings off Joaquin’s statue, which Oliver handcrafted himself. He promptly rebuilt Joaquin’s wings in his at-home art studio upon returning to Florida.

The Parkland parents stopped in cities that have experienced mass shootings to connect with communities affected by Orlando’s 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, Columbine’s 1999 high school shooting and Uvalde’s 2022 Robb Elementary school shooting, to name a few. Stopping at SXSW for a Lush collaboration, while seemingly less pressing, was just as vital to spreading gun violence prevention awareness, Oliver said. 

“When you fight in the gun violence universe, it’s hard to find a corporation that will back up your work,” Oliver told Campaign. “When you do find them, they’ll probably send a check. It’s hard finding a corporation that gets involved all the way, showing face, supporting the actions and being there.”

However, Lush’s SXSW Bloom a New Day interactive experience faced the controversial topic of gun violence head on, inviting attendees to a mock classroom with gun violence facts written on a blackboard and lockers filled with books about gun violence, including children’s style book Joaquin’s First School Shooting, written by Change the Ref to “explain gun violence to childish politicians.”

SXSW attendees read gun violence at Lush and Change the Ref’s Bloom a New Day activation. Credit: Lush

The event also launched the Sonflower Bath Bomb, with a sunflower shape inspired by the bouquet of Valentine’s Day sunflowers Joaquin brought to school for his girlfriend the day he was shot, and an avocado-infused scent nodding to Joaquin’s nickname, “Guac.” Printed onto the bath bomb’s packaging is a picture of Joaquin and an explanation of the Joaquin Oliver v. USA case, and customers can sign a petition supporting the Lawsuit for Survival in-person or online.

“This campaign is legal. It’s a lawsuit and, to me, it’s important to connect your feelings to this legal process,” Padauy-Oliver told Campaign. “A flower is something that’s so sublime, sensitive and beautiful. When you take care of a flower, it will grow.” 

Why gun violence prevention is relevant to brands (especially ones with mall locations)

“It requires a lot of exposure to let people know what’s going on, and we don’t have those resources by ourselves,” Oliver explained. “Yes, we have followers and social media. Yes, we travel. Yes, we are bilingual — so we can reach people. But what corporate has is customers.”

Customers trust brands more than nonprofit organizations, and businesses have a three point trust advantage over nonprofits, according to Edelman’s Trust Barometer. What Lush provides Change the Ref’s cause is not only customer volume, but also customer trust. The Olivers know this from their son’s loyalty to brands — many of which haven’t consistently advocated against gun violence.

“Joaquin was very loyal to a few brands — he was loyal to Nike and some musical artists out there,” Manuel Oliver explained, noting Joaquin was a fan of pop singer Ariana Grande, who performed at the March for Our Lives created by Parkland students in 2018. “It’s time for Nike and those musicians to turn back support to Joaquin, because Joaquin is not an exception.”

Manuel Oliver noted how over 350,000 Americans have been killed by gun violence between Joaquin’s death in 2018 and now — many from gun violence incidents occurring in malls. American retail locations experienced over 480 shooting incidents between 2022 and 2023, including malls with Lush stores inside.

“There are mall shootings constantly,” Pickard told Campaign, explaining how nearly all of Lush’s 260 American locations have experienced mall shootings. While Lush hasn’t lost any employees to in-store gun violence, there’s a “trauma” Lush employees face that “continues to worry them, and they continue to worry every time they come to work. That became a real business concern, making sure our folks were feeling as safe as we could support them to feel in stores,” Pickard continued. 

Activist-turned-exec paves way for brand advocacy

It’s rare for a global cosmetics retailer to have a designated advocacy and activism manager, but as she told Campaign, “Lush hired an activist, campaigner, organizer,” when they brought Pickard onboard in 2015. Prior to Lush, Pickard spent 20 years organizing for nonprofits with social justice causes. 

Pickard speaking at a 2016 protest as Global Exchange’s executive director. Credit: Lush

“We have this huge responsibility to be supporting our customers with questions they might have about what’s happening in the world,” Pickard said of the purpose of her position, mentioning Lush has donated over $100 million to grassroots organizations. 

Pickard was formerly executive director of human rights organization Global Exchange and ran the advocacy nonprofit’s Mexican Human Rights program, which has recently advocated for the disarming of cartels and protection of migrants from police violence. She was also the director of organizing for The Council of Canadians, where she traveled to Colombia to meet with displaced families and advocate for democratic electoral processes. 

Most recently at Lush, Pickard has worked on Bloom a New Day with the Olivers, along with a campaign renaming three of Lush’s best-selling bath bombs to “Diversity” “Equity” and “Inclusion” to call out retailers such as Target, Walmart and McDonald’s rolling back DEI programs under President Trump’s administration. She also hosted Lush’s SXSW 2025 panel, “Freedom of Speech or Freedom to Hate?” following Meta and X’s rollback of community guidelines and helped create Lush’s 2023 SXSW Banned Book Library activation to protest Florida’s removal of critical race theory from school curriculums. 

Prickard setting up the mock classroom for this year’s SXSW activation with Change the Ref. Credit: Lush

“We have this wide remit of human rights, animal protection and environmental justice, and we get the question all the time: ‘What does this company have to do with the 1921 Tulsa massacre or gun violence prevention?’” Pickard told Campaign. “Because we’ve built this trust with our community, it’s super important to get it right, to do it in a way where advocates and those most impacted by these issues are telling us how to make a difference.”

Resist Ball was the tip of the iceberg

Lush’s Resist Ball marked the brand’s success at platforming prominent activists to progress “controversial” causes across the board. That was evident when Mulvaney proudly posed with her rose bath bomb wearing her pink tulle dress — a fashion choice that two years ago would have added gasoline to the fiery protests of Bud Light’s consumers. 

Mulvaney holds up her Late Bloomer Bath Bomb while hugging Lush’s co-founder and director, Rowena Bird. Credit: Lush

It was evident when following the Soapbox Session, attendees took causes home with them — Lush’s gift bags included pocket U.S. Constitutions made with the American Civil Liberties Union, a pamphlet describing reparations written with Justice for Greenwood and the Sonflower Bath Bomb packaged with a picture of Joaquin and description of the Lawsuit for Survival. 

Lush’s decisions to hire an activist to organize its advocacy campaigns, host sobering activations at otherwise-sunny SXSW and quickly respond to political events with blunt bath bomb names have culminated to create a brand where changemakers feel safe advancing their causes with.

“This is not just ‘support.’ It’s beyond that,” Oliver said of Lush’s work with Change the Ref. “It’s believing in a cause and taking the risk to support that cause. That’s the key, and that’s what happened that night.”