Founded in 1976 in Brighton, England, by Dame Anita Roddick, The Body Shop is a global beauty brand and a certified B Corp. It operates nearly 3,000 shops in more than 70 countries. Together with Aesop, Avon and Natura, The Body Shop is part of Natura & Co, a global, multi-channel, multi-brand cosmetics group committed to making a positive economic, social and environmental impact. Its approach to beauty was radically different from that of the big companies in the industry. Its purpose was to source natural and ethical ingredients from around the world and sell its products in simple, refillable packaging. It created products and beauty rituals for all bodies that made women feel good without wanting to change their bodies. Joining the Fight Against Plastic Waste The global beauty company has launched the Plastic with a Head campaign to fight the plastic crisis by helping 2,500 pickers living below the poverty line, with a focus on empowering Indian women. The Body Shop also released its first bottles made from Trade with Communities plastic, in partnership with Plastics for Change, The Body Shop's fair trade programme. This initiative is carried out by the cosmetics company with the aim of reducing the more than 8 million tonnes of plastic that end up in the oceans, most of which comes from Asia.
In addition, this crisis has a great impact on the human element, as in India alone there are 1.5 million waste collectors, most of them women, who collect more than 6,000 tonnes of plastic a day and who live below the poverty line, suffer terrible working conditions and strong social discrimination. Against this backdrop, the brand aims with its new initiative, Plastic with a Head, to tackle the plastic imbalance in a different way: helping to transform lives by using recycled plastics and ensuring that plastic waste pickers receive a fair price for their work, a decent income and better working conditions. The B Corp Seal Certification is awarded to companies that prove compliance with the highest standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. It is the only seal that measures a company's entire social and environmental performance, going far beyond standard product or service level certification. Together, certified companies form a global community of 3,000 companies that use profit and growth as a means to a greater end, building a more inclusive and sustainable economy for all. The certification comes from B Lab, a non-profit organisation that serves a global movement of people using business as a force for good.
The Body Shop has long been a leader in the field of ethical business and now joins a growing number of B Corp companies around the world taking action to reduce inequality, lower poverty rates, create a healthier environment, foster stronger communities and create more skilled jobs with dignity and purpose. As part of the certification, The Body Shop changed its Articles of Incorporation to be bound by a commitment to the sustainability tripod - which benefits people and the planet, not just shareholders. To achieve B Corp certification, performance is analysed in five main areas: governance, employees, community, environment and customers. The campaign "Against Animal Testing Forever" contributed to this achievement. The company submitted eight million signatures to the UN (United Nations) in an effort to eliminate animal testing of cosmetics forever. The campaign and the more than 30-year Trade with Communities Programme - in which The Body Shop sources natural ingredients and accessories from economically vulnerable communities around the world - were key contributions to the certification.