News that Lush plan to close its social media accounts has been met with a mix of bafflement and indignation this week.

The high street natural beauty emporium say that the decision is part of a wider strategy to “cut out the middleman between ourselves and the Lush community”.

They want to return to conventional methods of communication – phone, email and live chat – because they believe these are more in keeping with their community-building ethos and one-on-one interaction, than digital social channels.

So rather than communicating with the outside world via one or two controlled platforms – and often paying for the privilege – they want to have their conversations in an unlimited and open way.

We’re interested to see if other beauty companies follow suit!