Chapter4. The Body Shop -Reading

in september i joined forces with the body shop and greenpeace, and many thousands of other organisations and individual consumers in an international campaign against exxon-mobil (esso), the world’s largest oil and gas company, and ‘no 1 global warming villain’. this is the company that refuses to accept a direct link between the burning of fossil fuels and global warming, and that has turned its back on investing even a single penny on renewable alternatives, such as wind and solar.
for me, campaigning and good business is also about putting forward solutions, not just opposing destructive practices or human rights abuses. one key area where my business and personal interests naturally combine is through the body shop community trade initiatives. it all started in 1989 when i attended the gathering at altamira of amazonian indian tribes protesting against a hydro-electric project which would have flooded thousands of acres of rainforest, submerging native lands. there had to be something practical i could do to help these people preserve their environment and culture. nuts? specifically brazil nuts, which the indians gathered sustainably from the forest and which when crushed produce a brilliant oil for moisturising and conditioning. this first trading relationship with forest people, unused to any real commercial activity, was fraught with pitfalls and dangers. but 13 years on we’re still trading with them and have even set up a green pharmacy project producing remedies based on traditional knowledge of forest plants – reducing dependency on inappropriate and expensive modern pharmaceuticals. every year i travel to a number of our projects. in november 1999 i visited our long-term partners teddy exports in southern india and gpi in nepal and our new partners, the chepang indigenous people who grow herbs for our ayurvedic range. in january i visited the 130 sesame seed oil farmers in nicaragua who receive a fair and stable price for their seed. as a result the farmers have built up a sustainable business that as well as offering marketing clout, runs a subsidised store, a credit union, and employs a cuban agronomist specialising in organic methods. the deal with the body shop isn't going to make the farmers financially rich, but it does enable them to maintain their chosen way of life and through co-operation achieve autonomy. i’m immensely proud of our efforts to make fair or community trade relationships more mainstream. the body shop now has 29 such projects in 23 countries and we aim to develop more.