Chapter4. The Body Shop -Reading

the body shop and i have always been closely identified in the public mind. today, it is impossible to separate the company values from the issues that i care passionately about – social responsibility, respect for human rights, the environment and animal protection, and an absolute belief in community trade. but the body shop is not, and nor was ever, a one-woman-show – it’s a global operation with thousands of people working towards common goals and sharing common values. that’s what has given it a campaigning and commercial strength and continues to set it apart from mainstream business.
though i no longer sit on executive committees, i still spend time on the body shop business. i source new products during travels abroad, work as part of the creative team and spearhead campaigns. and i constantly question myself: how can i bring values into an industry that is certainly not values-laden? the only way i can do it, is to perhaps bring back an idea for a trading initiative with an economically impoverished community in mexico or africa, or find inspiration for a new company commitment, just as my 1990 trip to romania spurred the romanian relief drive (now called children on the edge) and a visit to glasgow led to our partnerships with soapworks a local factory that produces our soaps.
the most exciting part of my life is now – i believe the older you get, the more radical you become. there’s a dorothy sayers quote i love, “a woman in advancing old age is unstoppable by any earthly force”. in november 1999, i flew to seattle to speak out against the role of the world trade organisation and witnessed the ‘battle of seattle’. i’m fascinated by the publishing industry: in i published my autobiography business and unusual and in i edited take it personally, a collection of provoking thought pieces to challenge the myths of globalisation and the power of the wto.
i launched my own website in and an activism portal in . i am overwhelmed by the potential of the web to link like-minded people and move them to mass-action. we are excited to experiment in other media too — perhaps subversive billboards, or a television program, or other print projects. as someone once said, we are only limited by our imaginations.
two of my greatest passions now are the campaigns we’ve undertaken as part of anita roddick publications. one focuses on sweatshop labour by multinational corporations. we’ve joined forces with the national labor committee on this and helped foster creative resistance that has made some noticeable inroads. and we’ve joined with a group of human-rights activists to free the american political prisoners known as the angola three. these three men, who were black political activists in the 1970s, have served over 35 years in solitary confinement in angola prison for crimes they did not commit. it is my intention to do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to see that their story is told and they are set free.