Sourcing sustainable palm oil, becoming 100% vegetarian and celebrating 20 years of Community Trade. These are just some of the ways The Body Shop is living our Values according to our 2007 Values Report.
In June 2007, The Body Shop became the first cosmetics company to source sustainably harvested palm oil. The Body Shop is now making all its soaps with sustainable palm oil from Colombia. The company has made this pioneering move as a response to the continued and rapid destruction of the world’s ancient rainforests caused by palm oil production, making The Body Shop the first cosmetics and toiletries retailer to introduce sustainable palm oil into the beauty industry.
2007 also sees the 20th anniversary of our ground-breaking Community Trade programme. We are still trading with our first supplier from 20 years ago – Teddy Exports, who supply us with out twin-ball massagers. Community Trade was the first fair trade programme of its kind in the cosmetics industry, and, we are proud to say, remains unrivalled by any other cosmetics company. More than 15,000 people in over 20 countries benefit from Community Trade.
This year we also announced that all our products are now suitable for vegetarians. We have long believed that testing cosmetics on animals is unethical and unnecessary, and now we are delighted to say that our products are made without using any animal meat industry by-products, like gelatin or hair.
There is much more about other initiatives – such as becoming a carbon neutral retailer by 2010 – in our 2007 Values Report.
In an innovative move, The Body Shop established a panel of our stakeholders – pressure groups, other companies and members of The Body Shop family – who advised us on what to include in the Report. It describes both how The Body Shop is living our Values and where we are falling short. This commitment to taking action and being transparent about our progress are both clear signs that Values are still at the heart of The Body Shop.
Read the full online Values Report here