High street retailer Lush has reportedly ended its collaboration with Download Festival as the fallout from the event’s trans toilet policy continues.
Download has already been called out by two acts who were due to take part in the rock and metal festival scheduled to take place at Donington Park, Leicestershire, next month. Now, Lush has said its collaboration is over because of the event organisers’ policy regarding which toilet facilities trans people can use.
In an email shared on Bluesky by the trans rights group Strive on Thursday (29 May), a Lush representative is quoted as saying: “We are terminating our collaboration with this event, so we will no longer be participating.”
Strive responded on the platform by saying: “Thank you Lush team for putting morals ahead of profits.”
Ref Download and its trans exclusion policy….
Partner companies are pulling out.
Just had this from Lush who had a partnership with the event.Thank you Lush Team for putting morals ahead of profits.
— STRIVE (@strivecampaign.bsky.social) 29 May 2025 at 13:12
Lush has already removed a relevant page from its website, but the festival’s site still has information about the partnership, detailing three products to “keep you feeling fresh from the mosh pit to that first wash back home.” However, the bath bomb, body spray and soap appear to have been removed from the online store.
The controversy fellow the festival’s organisers’ decision to follow the UK Supreme Court’s ruling that the legal definition of the protected characteristic of “sex” in the 2010 Equality Act was based on biology.
Download’s policy reads: “We will be following the guidance issued by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) on 25 April, [which] states that trans women (biological men) should not be permitted to use the women’s facilities, and trans men (biological women) should not be permitted to use the men’s.”
Following the court ruling, the EHRC published interim guidance which called for access to single-sex spaces to be based on biology, meaning that a trans woman must not be allowed to use a female toilet, and a transgender man cannot enter a male one. In addition, in “some circumstances” trans women should also be banned from the men’s facilities, and trans men from women’s.
Singer Noahfinnce is among those to call out Download, asking on X/Twitter: “How have you got the gall to invite trans people like me to play your festival, then ban them from using the toilet? If the only way we can p*ss is by outing ourselves, then you’ve created an unsafe environment.”
A spokesperson for the festival told PinkNews: “Download has always been, and remains, for everyone.
“At the heart of Download is acceptance. We stand with all members of our community and want everyone to feel safe, supported and welcome. We want to reassure all our customers that the majority of the toilets across the site are gender-neutral.”
PinkNews has approached Lush and Download for comment on the status of their partnership – both are yet to respond.
Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.
The post Lush ‘terminates Download Festival partnership’ over trans toilet policy appeared first on PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news.