THE BODY SHOP

History and activities of The Body Shop:

The Body Shop is a British multinational company specialized in the selling of natural cosmetics
especially skin and hair products. The company was created on March 26 th, 1976 by Anita Roddick
who was an environmental activist with revolutionary beliefs, she thought that: “Trade shapes the
world. It can change society according to your imagination.” The first store opened in Brighton in
southern England and two years later another shop opened in Brussels, Belgium. In 1982, The Body
Shop entered the French market.

In 1985, The Body Shop became a public limited company and since the founder was really attached
to the environmental issues she decided to join Greenpeace as part of the Save the Whale campaign to
combat the cruel practices of whaling by promoting jojoba oil to replace sperm whale oil, which was
widely used in cosmetics at the time.

In 1987, they created “Trade No Aid” which is a program of fair trade which consists permits to
suppliers to access certain markets and invest in societal and environmental projects that benefit their
communities, besides, it permits to the company to put good ingredients in their products. Moreover,
the same year they launched their first fair trade product with the help of an Indian company.

In the 90’s, The Body Shop decided to expand their market. Indeed, they decided to open shops in the
United States and all around the world which permitted to the company to have more notoriety.
Nowadays, the company has more than 2,500 stores all over the world exactly in 54 countries.

In 2006, L’Oreal which is the dominant company in the beauty industry acquired The Body Shop,
however it did not last because L’Oreal decided in 2017 to sell the company to Natura Cosmeticos
which is a Brazilian firm. By the way, we must know that when The Body Shop belonged to L’Oreal,
they did not chance their identity and values which are caring about caring about nature and
environmental issues.

Identity and values of The Body Shop:

The Body Shops sells around 1200 products made with natural and healthy ingredients. These
products are very diversified, we can find skin care products for the face and the body according to our
skin type, hair products according to our hair concern, make up and fragrances. These products are
mainly for women but there is also a range for men. These products have not been tested on animals
because the company is against animal testing.

Like we mentioned in the “history and activities” part of the Body Shop, the founder of the company
Anita Roddick decided in 1985 to join Greenpeace in a campaign against the cruel practices of
whaling and since 1989, the company is fighting for animal rights. Besides, the company created
Forever Against Animal Testing in collaboration with Cruelty Free International which is a program
which consists in prohibiting the selling of cosmetic products tested on animals.

In order to test their products without harming the animals, The Body Shop uses 3 methods:
1 – There are computer-based in silico analyses that use existing data available to help assess by
extrapolation if similar materials are suitable.
2 – Laboratory-produced skin is generated from human skin cells. This allows safety checks to be
carried out on cells that react virtually the same way as human skin, without harming humans or
animals.
3 – They often test their products using patch tests to ensure their tolerance to the skin. They place an
amount of product on an individual’s skin to verify its efficacy and safety.

Like animal rights, fair trade is one of the values of The Body Shop. The company considers that their
“Trade No Aid” program is different from the normal fair trade because it permits producers in
developing countries to establish decent trade standards, including fair and equitable remuneration,
when dealing with companies in developed countries. Moreover, the fact that the company has its own
program permits to have a strong connection with the producers and suppliers. Furthermore, Trade No
Aid is nowadays the largest fair-trade program in the cosmetics sector.
(We can add the fact that The Body Shop’s products are vegan)

The fair-trade offered by The Body Shop has many benefits for the producers, the suppliers and the
environment and we are going to name them:

- Shea butter from Ghana:

The supplying of shea butter comes from a women’s association of Tungteiya in northern Ghana. 640
women from 11 different villages make shea butter. Those women can get financial independence and
the money collected is used in order to better the conditions of living of the population of the villages,
This long-term investment has allowed the community to build 7 schools that can accommodate
approximately 1,200 students each year, promote access to clean water and health facilities.

- Gift boxes and paper from Nepal:

Fair trade handmade gift pouches and packaging are made sustainably by Get Paper Industry (GPI)
artisans in Kathmandu, Nepal. GPI employs more women than men and pays them in a fair and
equitable manner, also ensuring that they receive the same benefits. They have also pioneered social
projects to benefit the whole community around Bansbari. They helped send children from the poorest
families to school and raised education levels for girls through their ‘Send Your Daughters to School’
campaign and scholarships.

- Sustainable packaging with plastics from India:

By using recycled plastic from India’s fair trade, where nearly one third of the waste ends up in nature,
the company is fighting for people and the planet by offering “waste collectors” healthier working
conditions, a fair price, respect and recognition they deserve. Moreover, The Body Shop is associated
to Plastics For Change a for-profit organization, partnered with local NGOs Hasiru Dala and Hasiru
Dala Innovation (HDI) to provide Bangalore’s waste collectors with a stable income and better
opportunities.

- Fighting to empower women and girls:

The Body Shop considers itself as a feminist brand and wants to promote gender equality.