LUSH & Google Cloud AI: Reinventing Sustainable Checkout
The cosmetics industry pumps out more than 120 billion units of packaging every year, according to advocacy group Zero Waste Europe.
LUSH has been trying to buck that trend for decades with packaging-free cosmetics. While this approach cuts waste and avoids plastics, it brings its own operational headachesâespecially at the checkout.
Without barcodes on products, LUSH staff used to manually key in hundreds of items from memory. That slowed things down and built up queues, particularly during busy trading periods like Christmas.
To ease that pressure, LUSH is turning to AI, working with Google Cloudâs retail tech to speed up the process and improve supply chain efficiency from shelf to till.
Checkout pain points meet cloud-based solutions
At the heart of LUSH’s issue is the absence of barcodes. Solid shampoo bars and henna bricks don’t come in plastic wrapping with product codes. That’s a deliberate design choice from Co-Founder Helen Ambrosen, who says the idea came from necessity.
"As the concepts of the products began to evolve and because we had no money for packaging to begin with, a list of products that could be made solid began to come into view," she says.
"The first was a solid bath oil. Then came the henna brick I worked through my list realising that products in this form did not require preservatives."
This led to what Helen describes as “a very extensive patent portfolio,” allowing LUSH to create high-quality, packaging-free cosmetics. But while good for sustainability, these items caused friction at the point of sale.
Google Cloudâs AI offers a way around the issue. Its Retail Solutions platform uses AI to streamline store operations by tapping into product and customer data.
For LUSH, this means camera-based product recognition at the till. When a customer holds up an item, the system identifies it instantly, removing the need for staff to manually input the item or run through physical product lists.
The result is faster transaction times and a more consistent experience for shoppers and employees alike. Queues are shorter and the process is smoother, especially during high-pressure shopping periods. In Glasgow at Christmas, LUSH staff say lines shrank from "out-the-door" to about three minutes.
AI reshapes the LUSH supply chain
Beyond easing queues, this AI tool helps across LUSHâs supply chain. Staff training becomes faster, since thereâs no longer a need to memorise hundreds of unpackaged items. New joiners can pick up store processes more quickly, which LUSH says helps make the workplace more inclusive.
Inventory management also gets a boost. By linking AI-based recognition with backend stock systems, LUSH achieves more accurate billing and stock tracking. This means stores are better equipped to reorder products efficiently, cut waste and avoid both overstocking and running out of popular items.
Water usage has also dropped. Traditionally, staff performed in-store demonstrations using water to show how packaging-free items like shampoo bars lather or how bath oils dissolve. Now, with AI providing product information through customer smartphones, the company has saved an estimated 440,000 litres of water.
Justin Keeble, Managing Director for Global Sustainability at Google Cloud, sums it up: "LUSH is leveraging Google Cloud AI to champion sustainability in their retail operations.
"They're using AI to identify unpackaged products at checkout, cutting down transaction times and saving water by reducing the need for in-store product demonstrations. It's a great example of how technology can support eco-conscious practices while enhancing the customer experience."
It all feeds into the wider retail strategy: to keep packaging to a minimum while maintaining store performance. Google Cloud’s AI solution allows LUSH to deliver that balance by ensuring unpackaged goods can be identified without delay or error.
Packaging-free for sustainability and savings
There’s a clear environmental push behind LUSH’s commitment to going packaging-free. Reducing reliance on single-use plastics helps cut ocean pollution and landfill waste. Packaging production and transport are resource-intensive, so minimising them also shrinks carbon emissions.
Selling shampoo bars in place of bottled alternatives saves nearly six million plastic bottles each year, according to LUSH. Going without packaging also brings cost benefits. Without the need to manufacture branded containers, savings can be passed on to customers or reinvested into better-quality ingredients.
The use of AI reinforces that strategy by making a low-packaging model practical at scale. Google Cloud’s system lets LUSH stay lean while keeping transactions quick and customer experiences smooth.
