An ode to Dame Anita Roddick - Founder of the Body Shop

It was a sad day when the heroic Anita Roddick left this earth. For many people mourning her loss she was a business idol, a symbol of female prowess and one of the most influential pioneers for environmental change in recent times. Let’s hope we can learn from her and continue her plight now that she’s gone.

Anita Roddick founded the Body Shop in 1976. She needed to support herself and her daughters while her husband, Gordon Roddick, worked overseas. Having already travelled the world herself, working for the United Nations, Roddick had developed good business sense and an extensive understanding of global consumer needs. She had learned a great deal about women’s body care rituals in other countries and this informed her decisions about what goods she wanted to sell and promote. Anita Roddick was also brought up to be frugal, and transferred her economical ways to her business ethics. Things like refillable containers became a feature of the Body Shop and soon the terms “green” and “the Body Shop” became synonymous. From the outset, Roddick was also adamant that animal cruelty would never play a part in her business.

The Body Shop’s Mission Statement declares a dedication to the pursuit of social and environmental change. It was the first company to bring these issues well and truly to the forefront of the public mind. Women in particular started to take more note of how their consumerism had wider effects on their planet. Since the Body Shop’s rise to High Street fame, other large chains have had to amend their policies. Customers were no longer happy to buy products that were directly damaging the environment and other species in their development. Organising a petition signed by four million people, Anita Roddick actually managed to get the law changed on animal testing.

Anita Roddick headed many political campaigns for human rights and environmental issues that often jeopardised her relations with colleagues and business associates, including her opposition to the Gulf war.

Anita Roddick was an exceptional person. Not only was she a driven and self-made businesswoman, but she stuck to her personal beliefs and incorporated them into what she sold. Her message to the outside world was loud and clear and many have followed her through the years, gaining inspiration and strength. There is no going back now that public awareness has reached this point and we have much to thank Anita for. We all need to take responsibility for our actions on this earth - to be mindful of the reactions. It is not always obvious to people how small choices in the way we live can effect what’s around us and it takes someone like Anita Roddick to guide us. I hope there are more like her who are brave enough to stick to their moral values in every aspect of their lives.

Anita Roddick was knighted by the Queen in 2003 for her outstanding contributions, earning the title Dame Anita Roddick. She died in September this year aged 64.

God rest.