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Anita
Roddick
founded The Body Shop in the United Kingdom,
which went on to become a global retail
chain of more than 2000 stores selling
ethically produced body creams and cosmetics.
Roddick was green before it was cool to
be green, she used her success to affect
change, and her business and philosophy
continues to grow today.
She was born in the small town of Littlehampton
in the United Kingdom on the 23rd of October,
1942. Roddick was the daughter of Italian
immigrants, Gilda and Donny Perella. After
studying to be a teacher, Roddick traveled
the world, before returning to England
and marrying her life partner Gordon Roddick.
The Roddicks had run a restaurant and
a hotel, before Anita started The Body
Shop while her husband was in the United
States. With no experience, she opened
the first store to support her family
while her husband was trekking from Buenos
Aires to New York City. Roddick referred
to her first store as a "series of
brilliant accidents".
The Body Shop opened with fifteen cosmetic
products, sold in small, recyclable bottles
to keep start up costs as low as possible.
Anita Roddick didn't start the store because
she thought it would be good for the environment,
she started it to put food on the table
at home while her husband was away. People
loved the products she offered and The
Body Shop quickly grew in popularity.
A second store was opened in Chichester,
then friends and family started opening
stores, and eventually The Body Shop spread
throughout the world with more than 2000
locations.
As The Body Shop grew, Roddick's social
conscience and her passion for the environment
and human rights also grew. Five values
that the company still abides by include;
- Against
Animal Testing
- We believe that testing cosmetics
on animals is unethical, unnecessary
and should be banned.
- Support
Community Trade
- We believe in buying the highest quality
natural ingredients and handcrafted
products, from the best people, for
a fair price.
- Activate
Self Esteem
- We'll never sell false promises, or
an unattainable ideal of beauty, and
never ever play on insecurities. We
believe that there's no one way for
a woman to look.
- Defend
Human Rights
- We believe we have a responsibility
to ensure that wherever we trade and
whomever we trade with, our relationships
respect and honor human rights.
- Protect
our Planet
- We promote the use of renewable resources
and sustainable raw ingredients, supporting
sustainable wood through the use of
Forest Stewardship Council certified
wood products. We actively strive to
minimize waste and the unnecessary use
of excess packaging on our products.
We use renewable energy, we are planting
trees to absorb the carbon we produce,
and have committed to becoming carbon
neutral by 2010
The
Body Shop says "Our Values are
our DNA and govern all that we do, from
reducing our carbon footprint to ordering
our envelopes. To us, there is no other
way to work. After all, when you believe
in what you do, you do it better."
"For me, campaigning and good
business is also about putting forward
solutions, not just opposing destructive
practices or human rights abuses."
Anita
Roddick Quote
Dame Anita Roddick published several books,
including "Body And Soul: Profits
with Principles", "Business
as Unusual: The Triumph of Anita Roddick",
"Take it Personally : How to Make
Conscious Choices to Change the World",
and "Troubled Water: Saints, Sinners,
Truth & Lies About the Global Water
Crisis."
In 1990 Anita Roddick founded the "Children
on the Edge" foundation. The
purpose of the charitable organization
is to protect the "most vulnerable
and marginalized child worldwide, ensuring
they are heard and are not invisible,
are protected and have their needs met,
advocating for all of their rights in
accordance with the principles and provisions
of the UN Convention on the Rights of
the Child."
On the 10th of September, 2007 Dame Anita
Perella Roddick, DBE died at the age of
64. Roddick learned that she had been
living with hepatitis C just two years
before her death, even though it is likely
that she contracted the disease back in
the seventies after giving birth. She
was taken to hospital after suffering
from a headache and soon died of a major
brain hemorrhage. It is not known if the
hemorrhage was related to her suffering
from hepatitis C.
The "Queen of Green" passed
away at the St Richard's Hospital in Chichester,
West Sussex with her husband Gordon, and
two daughters Sam and Justine by her side.
The prime minister of the United Kingdom,
Gordon Brown said "She campaigned
for green issues for many years before
it became fashionable to do so and inspired
millions to the cause by bringing sustainable
products to a mass market.. She
will be remembered not only as a great
campaigner but also as a great entrepreneur."
This Anita Roddick biography may
not be reproduced online.
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