The Body Shop...oh dear me

[Rainbow]

Dame Anita Roddick has flogged her baby (The Body Shop) to probably the worst company you could imagine off the top off your head ... L'Oreal. You know the the that's even in a bit with Nasty Nestle (subject of a long term boycott too).

But the Dame seems to think everything is great, as BS will still be a separate entity, plus the fairly traded goods can also be used by L'Oreal, bringing in more wealth to communities who definately need it.

However after watching 3 interviews 1 with Dame Anita and two others with BS top men, not once did they mention animals.

http://www.anitaroddick.com/ :rolleyes:

[Kumem]

It would be nice to think that the (alleged) BS ethics would have a positive effect on L'oreal, but unrealistic too.
It's like Batman getting together with The Joker. L'oreal should be the nemesis of a company like BS, but it seems that since they have been going they have moved further and further away from their initial ethical stance. It would appear that the initial ethical stance was more like exploiting a need in the market for a kinder brand.

[SinnerCal]

Well, as usual, I'm cynical. :rolleyes: :sigh:

[Rainbow]

I don't blame you both. :(

[Fauxmage]

Is the Body Shop a big business in the UK? I know we have them here, but I have never shopped in one, as I rarely go to malls, and I have always used stuff from the health food store.

[Rainbow]

Is the Body Shop a big business in the UK? I know we have them here, but I have never shopped in one, as I rarely go to malls, and I have always used stuff from the health food store.
Yes it got quite sizeable.

Here's a good link regards it all care of Naturewatch (http://www.naturewatch.org/shoppingguide/News_loreal_bodyshop.asp).:rock:

[Tiggerwoos]

I like the idea of mailing all the loyalty cards to Naturewatch as a protest. Good idea of theirs!

[Rainbow]

Peta seem to think it'll be ok still http://www.caringconsumer.com/bodyshop.asp?int=weekly_enews
Colgate (boo hiss) have bought Tom's Of Maine as well. :(

[Rainbow]

After watching this weeks political comedy satire show 'Bremner Bird & Fortune' I've discovered more L'Oreal dirt! :grumble:
Take a look at these sites http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1229/p06s03-woeu.html & http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0525940685/103-9276507-1305467?v=glance&n=283155

A quote from the second site to give you a flavour of what would appear to be L'Oreals routes ...L'Oreal was a hotbed of former Nazi sympathizers all too willing to bribe and be pressured by anti-Zionists. :trash:=L'Oreal

[Bowwowmeow]

Latest News - Boycott The Body Shop!

Uncaged recently had a Global Boycott P&G Day leaflet inserted with VIVA! LIFE magazine. We had these printed and sent to VIVA! just before the unexpected news of L’Oreal’s takeover of The Body Shop, which was unfortunate because the leaflet recommended The Body Shop! We’ve analysed the situation and decided we can no longer recommend shopping at The Body Shop.

Therefore we have produced stickers stating this to go inside the remaining leaflets. These will be sent out with the free Global Boycott P&G Day campaign packs, so local campaigners can stick them next to the reference to The Body Shop, thereby explaining the new situation! (See end of email for more information about getting involved in Global Boycott P&G Day on 20 May 2006.)

Here’s why we’re recommending that consumers shun The Body Shop…
L’Oreal – children and animals last

L’Oreal still test on animals for the most trivial of reasons - to develop new cosmetics and toiletries. In an article in The Guardian on 17th March about the takeover (and despite all the rhetoric about taking on board the ethics of The Body Shop), L’Oreal stated that they hope to phase out animal testing in twenty years! This is interesting because in January 2003 the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers agreed an EU-wide ban on animal testing for cosmetics by 2009. We can only assume that either L’Oreal know something we don’t about the forthcoming ban, or that they intend to do their animal experiments outside the EU.

A quarter of L’Oreal’s shares are owned by notorious corporate behemoth Nestlé, who are known and hated for their aggressive marketing of baby milk formula. Nestlé, branded the world’s least responsible company, has the dubious distinction of being ‘Top of the Boycotts’ - a position it has occupied for many years. The World Health Organisation estimates that 1.5 million infants die around the world every year because they are not breastfed, and that where water is unsafe a bottle-fed child is up to 25 times more likely to die as a result of diarrhoea than a breastfed child. Nestlé are also an animal testing company and have carried out lethal animal tests that involved injecting huge quantities of coffee into the stomachs of animals.
Body Shop greenwash

Ethical Consumer have stated that The Body Shop’s ethical rating will plummet when the takeover is finalised, adding ‘there are plenty of other higher scoring ethical companies out there’. The reality is that Body Shop purchases will be paying for L’Oreal’s animal testing – money from subsidiaries always filters through to the parent company. Furthermore, The Body Shop will have access to L’Oreal’s research and development! Whichever way you look at it, The Body Shop are now inherently tainted by the stain of cruelty.

L’Oreal have bought The Body Shop in order to profit both financially and from the ‘greenwash’ they hope to gain. They understand the value of conscientious consumerism and are keen to add some to their portfolio.
Just like Procter & Gamble, L’Oreal exist for one reason and one reason only - to make as much money as possible. They test on animals in order to push new chemical ingredients onto the market and increase their profits. Naturewatch, who have run a long-standing boycott of L’Oreal, reveal that in 2005 L’Oreal made pre-tax profits of 1,600 million Euros (= £1,115,980,058).

There is a school of thought that urges people to continue buying Body Shop products in the hope that L’Oreal will genuinely take on board the ethics of The Body Shop and be persuaded to stop testing on animals.
Our view is that L’Oreal are extremely unlikely to stop testing on animals while they continue to make such obscene profits from selling high-end animal-tested cosmetics. History shows that companies and industries rarely volunteer to give up profitable practices for ethical reasons – they have to be forced into it.

Cruelty doesn’t pay!

Encouragingly, a recent report shows that the Body Shop brand has already been damaged by the takeover! If the boycott of The Body Shop is successful, L’Oreal will get their fingers burnt and lose money on their investment. This is important because big, unethical companies are buying out an increasing number of ethical brands. Colgate has recently bought Tom’s of Maine toothpaste, and last year Cadbury’s acquired the Green & Blacks chocolate firm. If we want the opportunity to shop ethically then we have to demand it and show that we are a financial force to be reckoned with.

Global Boycott Procter & Gamble Day X – Saturday 20 May 2006

This year, Uncaged is really going for it on the tenth anniversary of the Day of Action, with a variety of innovative and attention-grabbing events and actions. There has never been a more important time to get involved!

More details about how to get involved are below. There’s something for everyone, from the experienced protester to the armchair activist and first-time campaigner. Please let us know what you have planned.

Resources – FREE Campaign Pack Offer!!


We have brand-new Boycott P&G leaflets, posters, eye-catching carrier bags, and stickers, petitions, sample letters and news releases and other materials available. We are offering a FREE campaign pack of your 1st 100 leaflets, 2 posters, stickers & carrier bags to participants in the day of Action.

We also have a new Boycott P&G website, that is nearing completion, at www.boycottpandg.co.uk (http://www.boycottpandg.co.uk/).

For further materials we are offering the leaflets at £3 per 100, posters at £1 each and stickers at £1 per 100. All prices are subsidised and inclusive of p&p. Payments can be made by credit card via the donations section of the Uncaged website (stating what you want in the comments box) or phone (0114 272 2220) or by cheque to ‘Uncaged Campaigns’ at the address below.
ACTION!

The 2005 Day of Action saw over 120 P&G actions taking place around the world, click here for a report and photos (http://www.uncaged.co.uk/news/2005/boycott.htm).
· Plan your event now. Join over 150 expected protests taking place all across the world on 20 May to inform the public about P&G's cruel and unnecessary animal testing policies, and cruelty-free shopping. Stage protests at P&G sites; information/protest events at supermarkets; town centre information stalls; distribution of leaflets; and conduct letter-writing blitzes etc. Click here for a detailed guide to getting active on 20th May (http://www.uncaged.co.uk/pgpamphlet.doc).
· Please promote Global Boycott P&G Day X on your website and on diary and events pages. Feel free to use any images or text from our websites.
· We have an html banner available to place on your website. See: www.uncaged.co.uk/pgaction.htm#band (http://www.uncaged.co.uk/pgaction.htm#band).
· Please promote Global Boycott P&G Day X to people on your email lists and alert them to the day. You could ask your contacts to join your protest, organise protests of their own, leaflet, write to their local media and online forums etc.
· Please promote the global boycott of Procter & Gamble by placing our hyperlinked banner at the bottom of your emails. See: www.uncaged.co.uk/pgaction.htm#eband (http://www.uncaged.co.uk/pgaction.htm#eband).
· We hope to have a short electronic film/game about P&G Day available. Please help spread it as far and wide as possible via your website and email lists.
· Please email me, Max Newton, at max@uncaged.co.uk to register your participation in this vitally important Day of Action.
Many thanks in advance for you support.
Yours for animals' rights
http://www.thenakedvegan.net/image004.gif
Max Newton, Campaigns Co-ordinator
Uncaged Campaigns, 9 Bailey Lane, Sheffield S1 4EG, UK
phone +44 (0) 114 272 2220, fax +44 (0) 114 272 2225