Heather Deeth of LUSH – The Beauty of Ethical Buying

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Heather Deeth is the North America Buying Manager at LUSH FRESH HANDMADE COSMETICS and she heads up ethical buying. But how did her unusual path — from growing up in farming communities and working in the shipping industry, to joining a Canadian chocolate startup then managing operations for a big skin care brand in Canada, — prepare her for the massive scope of how LUSH has grown — involving hundreds of raw materials and thousands of packaging items—all while maintaining an ethical supply chain and giving attention to social impact of that sourcing? Heather joins Socialfy co-founders Stephanie Cartin and Courtney Spritzer, on location at the National Retail Federation Big Show in New York for a conversation about leadership in her business and building her career, and she describes her journey to success, including: the challenges of launching as many as 400 products each year; the strict conditions of determining vendors in cosmetics, including prohibiting animal testing; the tough decisions of reconciling business needs with staying true to ethical buying; a special fund devoted to systematically shifting agriculture through regenerative sites; the value of personal coaching; and Heather’s memorable pilgrimages with a four year old child in tow.