Event: SOAP NOT SOUP - Shark Savers at LUSH Flagship Store

On 16 Jan, there was a SOAP NOT SOUP press event held at LUSH Singapore Flagship store. During the event, they presented the Shark Fin Soap by LUSH which was launched in Hong Kong last year.
LUSH, is joining Shark Savers with a whirlwind tour through Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong to raise awareness about shark conservation with the sale of their “shark fin soap,” a sea-vegetable soap with a fin.  
Singapore kicked off in January, and beginning in February LUSH’s retail locations and the Shark Savers Taiwan team will conduct the largest awareness and education campaign on shark fin soup yet in Taiwan. Then it’s off to Hong Kong in March with joint promotions running through May.

Pictures of soaps taken at the LUSH flagship store at Wisma Atria. Once entered, I was warmly welcomed by both the LUSH and Shark Savers people.

I never get tired looking at the colourful soaps laid upon the shelves. My eyes stopped at various beautifully decorated soaps and it made me imagine myself in a bathtub using them... *day dreams* Opps! lolx~

Cosmetics Giant LUSH Joins Shark Savers ‘I’m FINished with FINS’campaign
SINGAPORE, January 19, 2013 – COSMETICS giant LUSH has teamed up with Shark Savers Singapore to raise awareness about the urgent need to curb the consumption and trade of sharks’ fins. The collaboration was launched on Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at LUSH Cosmetic’s boutique at Wisma Atria and continues for two weeks.

Attending the event were Singaporean celebrities featured in Shark Savers’ “I’m FINished with FINs” campaign which empowers Singaporeans to not to eat shark’s fin soup: Mr. Hossan Leong, the campaign’s celebrity ambassador, Mr. Aaron Wong, campaign photographer, Ms Yasminne Cheng, Class95FM Radio deejay, and Nominated Member of Parliament Mr. Nicholas Fang. These personalities and almost fifty others can be seen in evocative black-and-white “I’m FINished” billboards throughout Singapore.

LUSH and Shark Savers have joined for a two week event called “Soap not Soup”, featuring the sale of ‘shark fin soap’. LUSH produced this special edition soap out of seaweed and sea salt, topped off with a small cardboard shark fin. All sales proceeds will go to Shark Savers.


Spot the celebrities in the photo I took! ^-^

Yummy refreshments & wine to celebrate the collaboration between Shark Savers & LUSH.

Behind the glass windows displayed a 'shark teeth' made out of plastic spoons. It looks real huh? And a table stacked with limited edition Shark Fin Soaps. (Not made of shark fins)

Shark Fin Soap is made out of sea vegetable & sea salt. 100% of its sales proceeds will go to the Shark Savers.


I'm FINished with FINS posters.

Some Fun Facts & Conservation Facts about Sharks.

Press Conference

Nafees Khundker, Director of Lush Cosmetics Singapore & Jonn Lu, Shark Savers Singapore giving a short speech.

Mr. Nafees Khundker, Director of LUSH, Singapore, explained, “100% of the LUSH products are not tested on animals and are designed to have a low impact on the environment.” he said. “We are very proud to partner with Shark Savers in what is a critical initiative to save sharks, which face the threat of extinction due to the consumption of shark fin soup.”
Jonn Lu, Regional Director of Shark Savers, Asia Pacific, noted that “the over-fishing of sharks, mostly for their fins, happens out in the ocean, where most people don’t see it or know about its impact. People care about what they know, and they protect what they care about. We need to make sure people are aware about this issue, which is having a severe impact not just on sharks but the rest of the ocean ecosystem, and us humans who depend on the oceans for our existence.”

Statistics were mentioned by John Lu during the press event:

Each year, the fins of tens of millions of sharks are slaughtered, with their fins entering the shark fin trade.
1/3 of all shark species are threatened with extinction.
80% of open ocean shark species frequently targeted in high seas fisheries are threatened or near threatened with extinction.
All 14 species of shark most prevalent in the shark fin trade are Threatened or Near Threatened with extinction.
More information and references for the above claims may be found HERE


The celebrity participants gave their own reasons for supporting Shark Savers’ campaign. NMP Fang said, “If you look at the damage we are doing to the environment through this activity [eating shark fin soup], it is huge.” Fang urged people “to stand by your personal convictions” and not be afraid to speak out against shark fin soup. Yasminne Cheng added, “If there are traditions that are negative, that affect our welfare, then we should rethink these traditions.”
Hossan Leong joked that he is “doing this for 'selfish reasons', because if you don’t save the sharks, you won’t have healthy oceans, and I like seafood.” He referred to research that showed removing sharks from the ecosystem can result in the loss of species further down the food chain. He added, "the next generation should have the opportunity to see these beautiful creatures in their natural habitat."

LUSH, a vegetarian company with vegetarian beliefs and sensibilities, which has over 820 shops across 50 countries around the globe, has taken Shark Savers’ pledge to not to serve any sharks fin dishes at corporate events, promote any shark fin products, or reimburse employees for expenses for sharks fin products. LUSH has also supported Shark Savers’ campaigns in Hong Kong, the United States, Canada, and Taiwan.


View it on Youtube
If you would like to hear what they talked about during the event, watch the video! I must warn you first that some parts are pretty... hilarious. ^∇~ (Luckily I wasn't captured in this vid! Vid Camera shy... haha!)



About Shark Savers Singapore
Shark Savers Singapore is a non-profit marine conservation organisation dedicated to saving sharks through awareness, education and direct grassroots action. Shark Savers Singapore’s mission is to empower Singaporeans to educate and inform their friends and family about the plight of sharks; that the unsustainable consumption of shark fin soup is responsible for the intense overfishing of sharks worldwide, destroying a critical link in the maintenance of healthy commercial fisheries and global marine ecosystems.

About LUSH
LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics has been driven by innovation and its ethics. Creators of pioneering beauty products such as the fizzing bath bombs, bubble bars, and solid shampoo bars, LUSH places emphasis on fresh ingredients like organic fruits and vegetables and the finest essential oils. LUSH operates a strict policy against animal testing, supports Fair Trade and Community Trade initiatives, and leads the cosmetics industry in combating over-packaging by developing products that can be sold ‘naked’ to the consumer.
LUSH products are 100 percent vegetarian, 81 percent vegan, 69 percent preservative-free and 44 percent free of wasteful packaging with absolutely no animal testing being done on LUSH products or ingredients. These ethics are at the heart of the brand and will remain there with every new shop that opens globally. LUSH has 1 location in Singapore with over 820 worldwide in 50 countries.


Goodies
Here's what are in the goodie bag:
- LUSH Shark Fin Soap
- LUSH Sweet Lips Lip Scrub
- LUSH $10 voucher
- SOAP NOT SOUP T-shirt (← the tee's so cool!)
- Asian Diver magazine 2013 Issue 1 (← LUSH Shark Fin Soap was mentioned in this magazine)
- I'm FINished with fins DIY cardboard shark fin

Shark Fin Soap

Alright ladies!!.... and men! Time to zoom into the shark fin!.. Soap i mean. Here I present some close-up images of the soap.
An ocean blue soap shaped in a little ~ wave symbol which also represents the ocean. Remember the days when you as a kid, drew many ~ symbols on paper, pointed it and says "SEA". (lolx~) 

The shark fin is made in black cardboard paper. It protrudes out from the middle of the soap which mimics the real shark fins seen gliding across the ocean surface. This is perhaps an image of what they wanted us to imagine, watching the sharks able to swim in the ocean WITH their fins and not without them.

This soap has a pretty strong 'ocean-y' smell (a smell that reminds me of ocean that is), but with more lime in it. From the LUSH website, its said that it has actually scents of lime, lavender and seaweed. The sea weeds found at the bottom of the soap kinda projects the plants living on the ocean floor. As like many other LUSH soap, this soap is easy to lather with water. After bathing using the soap, my skin feels clean and has this slight waxy after-feel and the scent lingers on my body.

Since I don't see any of my faces in the events photo, I shall bombard you with my LOTD! But I don't want my face to become the main subject for this post so I thumbnail them. lalala~ acting cute etc etc etc~

 Hair covering my whole face is like the best LOTD huh. =p~

Price
LUSH Shark Fin Soap SGD$15/ 100g
LUSH Sweet Lips Lip Scrub SGD$14/ 25g

Where to buy?
LUSH Singapore @ Wisma Atria, 435 Orchard Road, Singapore 238877 (Unit No. B1-13)

Website
Shark Savers
Shark Savers Singapore
Shark Savers Singapore FB
I’m FINished with Fins campaign
SOAP NOT SOUP Press event with LUSH FB Album
LUSH Singapore
LUSH Singapore FB

Contact aleron.linyunian@sharksavers.org if you are interested to volunteer or participate in Shark Savers events

Text taken from Shark Savers Press Release.