The Body Shop

The story started in Brighton, England in 1976. It began with the founder, Dame Anita Roddick,

and her belief in something revolutionary: that business could be a force for good. Following her

vision, they’ve been rule breaking, never faking and change making for over 40 years.

When The Body Shop first opened its doors in 1976, it was a little green-painted shop in the streets

of Brighton, England. Its approach to beauty was radically different to the big players in the beauty industry.

It was simple – ethically sourced and naturally-based ingredients from around the world, in no-nonsense

packaging you could easily refill. Products and beauty rituals made for every body, that made women

feel good in their skin - never promising to make them look like someone else.

Over 40 years ago, this kind of approach was ahead of the curve. With Anita’s passion for the planet and

campaigning for causes, The Body Shop was always more than just a beauty brand. It had purpose - profit

and principles working in harmony. Their products were never tested on animals and didn’t exploit anyone

in making them. They worked fairly with farmers and suppliers, and helped communities thrive through

their Community Fair Trade programme. Today, there are more and more brands following in their footsteps,

and they are glad to welcome them aboard. The world needs it.

When The Body Shop first started, the beauty industry had pretty set ideas on what girls and women should look like.

But Anita had her own ideas, too. She believed that beauty was a person‘s source of joy, comfort and self-esteem.

It was what you liked about yourself, and what made you feel good. Her beauty products, she believed,

were more about a daily ritual of self-love instead of the false promising of slimming and anti-ageing that

the industry pedalled. She didn‘t want to create products to make women look a certain way - but to help

them be the best versions of themselves.

‘‘I think all business practices would improve immeasurably if they were guided by ‘feminine’ principles.’’

Anita was an activist at heart. It‘s what gave The Body Shop our unique purpose and drive for social change.

A true feminist and human rights activist, she built the brand on empowering women and girls with every

product and every business decision, striving for equality and creating opportunities for women through our

Community Fair Trade programme. Principles some labelled as ‘feminine’ - inclusivity, collaboration and

compassion - are the foundation of our brand.

The Body Shop is rooted in activism, and their history of campaigning started in 1986. Anita teamed up with

Greenpeace on the Save the Whale campaign to fight the cruel practise of whaling, promoting jojoba oil as a

substitute for sperm whale oil, which was used widely in cosmetics at the time. They started big. They started

as they meant to go on. Today, they‘re a trusted global brand with decades of successful activism behind us,

and they are in a unique position to voice millions of customers’ concerns and take their causes to decision

makers around the world, to secure long-term positive change.