15 passionate years of ethically sourced beauty, supporting local communities and campaigning for gender equity & sustainability

Mumbai: The Body Shop India, the original, ethical and natural beauty brand based in the UK, celebrated its 15th anniversary in June 2021 in India. A pioneer in sustainable and fair trade beauty, The Body Shop launched in India in June 2006 and has been a trailblazer in bringing the best of beauty, made sustainably with fair trade ingredients from around the world. 100% Vegetarian and Cruelty Free, The Body Shop is India’s largest international beauty retailer with 200 stores across the country and servicing over 25,000 pincodes through its web store www.thebodyshop.in

Founded in Brighton in 1976, by the late Dame Anita Roddick, The Body Shop is a forerunner in the ethical, green beauty movement. With a history of championing local communities through its bespoke Community Fair Trade (CFT) programme, The Body Shop sources its ingredients, accessories and packaging from over 30 CFT partners all over the world. The brand has a deep connection to India with 3 of its global CFT partners based in India.

This includes The Body Shop’s first ever CFT partner – Teddy Exports in Madurai – who have been supplying the brand with a wide variety of high-quality gifts and accessories since 1987. Manorama Industries (Chhattisgarh) is a women’s cooperative supplying the brand with CFT Mango Seed Oil since 2017. The brand’s newest Indian CFT partnership was forged in 2019 with Bengaluru based Plastics for Change – launching the world’s first fair trade recycled plastic packaging, created from recyclable plastic waste collected by waste picker communities in South India.

As a brand with activism at its very heart, The Body Shop India has also consistently championed local causes and initiatives in the market driving widespread awareness and fundraising for a variety of community projects that are aligned to its values. Continuing its founder’s legacy of driving business as a force for good, the brand has numerous seminal campaigns to its credit such as Stop Violence in the Home (2007- 13), Support Her Education (2014-16), Forever Against Animal Testing (2017) and Rebuilding Bio-Bridges (2017). Most recently, the brand contributed over INR 35L to the female waste picker community struck by Covid-19, through Project NARI (Nutrition – Ability – Retraining – Inclusion) in 2020-21. For its End Period Shame campaign launched in April 2021, the brand is collaborating with Child Rights and You (CRY) to raise awareness about menstrual taboos as well as raise funds for community period projects in underprivileged communities hit by the pandemic.

Elated at achieving this milestone in the brand’s journey, Ms. Shriti Malhotra, CEO, The Body Shop India said, “Celebrating 15 years in India is a truly exciting & thrilling milestone for all of us at The Body Shop India. It is a moment to thank our millions of customers who have put their faith in The Body Shop, followed and participated in our community campaigns and amplified the unique Brand voice and values of business. It is also the moment to celebrate and honour our hundreds of colleagues and team members across our 200 stores, who continue to deliver impeccable service to our customers, even in the toughest of times and have won the hearts of so many across the country. As we look forward to the next 15 years, we are committed to ensure that our business remains a force for good. With businesses navigating many factors – the pandemic, social justice activism, sustainability – a clear purpose acts as a compass to us on this path. In these times of great social and environmental inequity, businesses with purpose is needed more than ever. We will continue to stand up and speak out about issues that impact our people and our planet; bring the best of ethically created natural products to the market. We will continue our fight as a reminder to all of us to be activists and drive change. We will continue to reach out and help communities in need and we will continue to serve our customers with their changing needs in mind with empathy and care. After 15 years, we’re just getting started.”