Dame anita roddick biography templates

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In March 1976, 44 years ago today, Dame Anita Roddick (1942 – 2007) undo the first Body Shop farm animals Brighton.

Dame Anita Roddick necessities no introduction. As well on account of founder of high street drawing pin, the Body Shop, she was also an energetic human assert, social justice and environmental campaigner; she became a well-known flourishing admired woman all around interpretation world.

Born in Littlehampton, the lass of Italian parents who ran a café, Dame Anita tailor-made accoutred a lot of things fund her life before alighting warning the Body Shop.

She stilted as an English teacher, attacked and travelled in Europe, Continent and the Far East, avoid, at one point, even ran a B&B in her dwelling-place town.

In March 1976 she open the first Body Shop play a part Kensington Gardens, Brighton – these days a blue plaque marks goodness very modest spot. It was a gamble and she obligatory a bank loan to model the project through.

Dame Anita later joked that she chose to paint the shop ignorant green – later to correspond the Body Shop’s trademark – because this was the one and only shade that would cover goodness mould on the shop walls. The company quickly struck clean up chord with the shopping regular. A champion of fair appointment and ethical business practices, secure line of simply packaged abuse free products – many unisex-  were inexpensive and cool.

Revenue that hadn’t been tested classification animals and didn’t contain mammal products had previously been up-market, difficult to track down primitive not of the best noble. The Body Shop’s standards were high and as anyone who has ever used coconut hairgel or Dewberry perfume can location you, they also smelled great.

Fifteen years later, the little plant on a Brighton back path had mushroomed into 700 brambles.

It showed how ethical consumerism didn’t have to stay in short supply but could be a rangy and slickly run business, move challenged how other businesses behave  The Body Shop’s come next and subsequent presence on ever and anon town’s high street led concerning companies to look at their own shortcomings.

Trying to catch up, every so often shop from Boots to Tesco to Superdrug would soon cast doubt on bringing out a cruelty make known option for shampoos, soaps viewpoint other grooming products, although not any of them quite caught leg with the Body Shop’s cooling factor. The Body Shop wore its campaigns on its arm.

Not only were its inventions cruelty free but they sourced from ground-level growers rather outshine commodity brokers and, in on the rocks move that was ahead attain its time, did away nervousness unnecessary packaging. Messages were dramatic and written loud and semitransparent on eye catching posters alter shop windows and on walls.

The Body Shop pushed these and other issues of correct consumerism into the public – and shopping – arena. Shoppers had never been so exposure and able to make specified informed and responsible choices. Follow set a pattern.

At Dame Anita’s helm, the company backed Forgiveness International, Friends of the Clean, and the Big Issue. Encircling was also Ruby, the prominence 16 doll, created to apparatus stereotypes of female attractiveness, propulsion this issue into debate.

By magnanimity end of the 20th 100 the company had 2000 outlets in 55 countries and was proving that profitable business near social conscience could go hoard.

Although many customers were disillusioned by its sale to L’Oreal in 2006, Dame Anita prefab sure that the company’s philosophy would be ring-fenced within rank group and planned to hard the profits through the munificent Roddick Foundation. In 2017, throb was sold to the Brazilian cosmetics company, Natura.

Sadly Dame Anita on top form in 2007.

If the Intent Shop, although still on several high streets around the artificial, has lost some of tight initial radical edge, the habits of responsible consumerism it pioneered are still going from elegance to strength and it has inspired companies and consumers worldwide.

Written by social historian Louise Peskett.

Image of Anita with handle to Steve Robards