"I hate the beauty business. It is a monster industry selling unattainable dreams. It lies. It cheats. It exploits women." These are the first few lines of the book Body and Soul: Profits with Principles - The amazing story of Anita Roddick and The Body Shop by Anita Roddick.
In the book she writes, "What is beauty? I believe beauty is about vivaciousness and energy and commitment and self-esteem, rather than some ideal arrangements of limbs or facial features as celebrated in fashion magazines and beauty pageants.....In my view the cosmetic industry should be promoting health and wellbeing; instead it hypes an outdated notion of glamour and sells false hopes and fantasy."
Anita Roddick has created a very large awe-inspiring company and brand from very humble beginings. She started The Body Shop in 1976 using natural ingredients in plastic bottles used by hospitals to collect urine samples because they were the cheapest available. Her shop was sandwiched between two undertakers who did not see the humor of her store name next to theirs. And the trademark green walls were used because that was the only color that would cover the mold.
But it is not these anecdoctal factors that helped the brand. It was her pursuit towards making the brand and her life stand for important things that mattered to her. Her belief was the business could be conducted with love and the power of business could be used for good. From speaking up against animal testing to aiding trade and importing ingredients from under-developed and developing nations, Anita Roddick used her life and her company to do good. And the customers responded. In 30 years The Body Shop has grown from a single outfit to a $1.86 billion company without using elaborate marketing campaigns or multi million dollar ad budgets and research. Instead they pushed the brand forward with posters like the famous Barbie one targeted at the "real" women and womens body image issues.
Hats off to a brilliant woman, entrepreneur, activist and marketer. We need more people with that kind of passion.
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