Latest news with #AnitaRoddick
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Demolition works begin at former Body Shop HQ
Demolition works have begun at the former headquarters of The Body Shop. The ethical beauty brand moved out of its base in Littlehampton last year after decades in the West Sussex town. Works began on Tuesday to demolish the striking building with its green roof in Watersmead Drive, next to the junction known locally as the "Body Shop roundabout". The Body Shop announced in October last year that it was relocating its head offices to Brighton, where founder Dame Anita Roddick opened the brand's first store in 1976. Residents in the town previously told BBC Radio Sussex that they were "shocked" by the decision to relocate. The move comes after the business's UK stores were saved from administration by a consortium led by British cosmetics tycoon Mike Jatania. Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. More on this story
BBC News
07-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
The Body Shop: Demolition work begins on former Littlehampton HQ
Demolition works begin at former Body Shop HQ The former Body Shop offices were home to the beauty brand for decades Work to demolish the former headquarters of The Body Shop in Littlehampton has begun Demolition works have begun at the former headquarters of The Body Shop. The ethical beauty brand moved out of its base in Littlehampton last year after decades in the West Sussex town. Works began on Tuesday to demolish the striking building with its green roof in Watersmead Drive, next to the junction known locally as the "Body Shop roundabout". The Body Shop announced in October last year that it was relocating its head offices to Brighton, where founder Dame Anita Roddick opened the brand's first store in 1976.
Forbes
22-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Green, But Not Golden: Why Beauty's Sustainability Moment Still Isn't Secure
For all its shimmer and shine, the beauty industry still hasn't managed to polish its conscience. Earth Day arrives once more with a familiar mix of ambition and ambiguity. And while the language of sustainability is now fluent across beauty marketing—from refills to recyclables to 'clean'—the industry is yet to move from movement to maturity. The market is talking a greener game. But the execution? Still patchy. Still performative. Still, too often, surface-deep. Let's be clear: the appetite is there. Today's consumers are engaged, informed and deeply motivated by values. They are asking the right questions, even when the answers remain elusive. And yet, green beauty still accounts for a modest slice of the overall market. Why? Because there are still barriers—of price, of education, of optics. Packaging that lacks shelf appeal in a hyper-aesthetic social media age. Products that don't quite live up to their own promise. And, all too often, brands that assume intent alone will close the deal. Many consumers want to do the right thing—but they're tired of feeling tricked by murky labels, or penalised at the checkout for choosing better. We don't need more awareness campaigns. We need more action, and a little less artifice. Before the term 'sustainable' was commercially viable—let alone fashionable—there was Anita Roddick, founding The Body Shop on a platform of ethics, activism and enterprise. Her belief that business should be a force for good wasn't marketing—it was muscle. I was fortunate to see her work up close in the early days of my career. She had an uncanny blend of commercial clarity and deep conviction. She built systems, not slogans. And decades on, her influence endures. Neal's Yard Remedies, founded in 1981 in a modest Covent Garden corner, continues to stand as one of the original green champions. Before algorithms told us to care, they were bottling plant-based remedies, sourcing organic ingredients, and operating with a quiet confidence that still holds today. Their aesthetic may be apothecary, but their supply chain is one of the most forward-thinking in the sector. Some newer brands are not reinventing the green beauty wheel—they're just rolling it forward, with poise and purpose. Take Living Libations—a brand born not in a lab, but in a forest. Founded by Nadine Artemis, its roots lie in botanical intimacy and ingredient reverence. Their cult favourite Best Skin Ever isn't trend-chasing—it's a return to ritual. With formulations that read like poetry and sourcing practices that would impress any sustainability auditor, this is a brand built on quiet brilliance, not buzzwords. Then there's Pott Candles—a brand offering a solution so simple it's genius. Hand-thrown ceramic pots, endlessly refillable with natural wax blends. Beautiful, tactile, low-waste—and more emotionally resonant than another glass jar destined for landfill. Their packaging doesn't shout; it invites. And platforms like Naturisimo have stepped into the gap where trust and curation meet. They do the vetting, so consumers don't have to. Their edit is not only clean—it's considered. Similarly, My Night Show adds a theatrical layer to sustainability: indulgent but intentional, with storytelling that appeals to the emotionally intelligent shopper. The good news? Consumers are ready. The younger generation in particular—steeped in climate anxiety and digital literacy—are embracing refillables, questioning provenance, and rewarding transparency. Brands who layer elegance with ethics are cutting through. Those who create covetable aesthetics and back them with data, integrity and genuine circularity are building loyalty—not just likes. But we're still seeing stumbling blocks: To move from movement to mainstream, green beauty has to become more than seasonal sentiment. It must embed itself into every layer of business—from design to distribution. That means rethinking how beauty is made, marketed, and measured. Design must lead, with sustainable products that earn their place on the shelf and feel at home in a curated, social-first world. Pricing has to shift too—ethical shouldn't mean elite. Sustainability needs to feel normal, not niche. We need clear, simplified labelling that cuts through confusion and empowers consumers at point of sale. No more smoke and mirrors—just data, integrity, and accessible language. And retailers must take more responsibility—not simply chasing conversions but curating with conscience, and elevating brands that combine efficacy with ethics. For consumers, it's about returning to the basics: choosing fewer products, choosing with purpose, and finding satisfaction in simplicity. Real sustainability isn't about sacrifice—it's about smarter decisions, made repeatable. Sustainable beauty must be more than a feeling. It must be a structure—a set of behaviours, practices and decisions embedded deep within the brand, not dressed up for Earth Day. We don't need more products. We need better ones. Designed to last, designed to refill, designed to do their job without demanding the planet pays the price. Because true beauty has always been about more than what we see—it's about what we stand for.
Telegraph
07-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
The Body Shop is back with five perfumes. There is one standout star
If nostalgia were a smell, it would be The Body Shop's Dewberry or White Musk. With its responsibly-sourced ingredients and packaging, the brand was decades ahead of its time. When the environmental and human rights campaigner Anita Roddick founded it in a backstreet shop in Brighton in 1976, she encouraged customers to bring their bottles back to be refilled in store to reduce plastic waste (and also because they physically didn't have enough bottles to meet demand). Roddick's vision and products were a hit worldwide (remember the bath pearls and probably the first place you ever saw a loofah?) and within a few years the products were a household name, and uniquely at that time, many were used by men and women. However, a nosedive in profits in recent years saw the struggling retailer go into administration early last year. It was bought out of administration in September by a consortium led by British cosmetics tycoon Mike Jatania, who announced a £2 million profit in its first three months under his ownership; he recently announced that they were 'back for good'. Part of the focus of the new Body Shop seems to be a re-focus on what they were always good at: fragrance. But don't expect the little bottles of hippie perfume oils lots of us queued up for in the 80s. The new fragrance collection, which they began in 2022, focusses on single note floral perfumes. As a legacy to the brand's heritage, it takes care to research and only use responsibly and sustainably sourced ingredients. There are five fragrances in total – Full Rose, Full Iris, Full Orange Blossom, Full Ylang Ylang and the latest, Full Magnolia, £42 each. My initial thoughts They're beautifully crafted. My go-to perfume would usually be something classic from Guerlain or Chanel, or if all fails, I love the fresh, splashiness of Dior' s Eau Sauvage, but I have to say these fragrances stand up to my classics and feel like a real find. They smell expensive – and are a refreshing change from the many overpowering ouds and leathery perfumes out there today. It feels rare to find a perfume like this for under £50. I agree with fragrance expert Alice du Parcq who tells me, 'If you want something minimalist but with beautifully crafted ingredients blended well, these are worth checking out. A lot of time and effort has gone into them and finding a credible, affordable fragrance that lasts well on the skin is hard to find. They are a lovely pocket friendly addition to any spring fragrance wardrobe.' Using the whole flower Du Parcq likes the concept that each fragrance uses the entire flower, not just the petals, 'The stalks, the earth, the leaves are all used which give the fragrance a bit more depth,' she says. I like how each bottle has engraved on the back with the origin of the main ingredient. For example, hand-picked roses from Grasse for the Full Rose or iris stems from the South of France for the Full Iris. Noteworthy is the Full Orange Blossom, which if you're a fan of Tom Ford's Neroli Portofino, you'll appreciate this uplifting citrussy spritz. Like another British perfume brand, Floral Street, the Body Shop's choice to focus on florals is a clever one. Floral perfumes are big sellers – Jo Malone's English Pear and Freesia, Miss Dior, Gucci Flora Orchid and Marc Jacob's Daisy are some of the best sellers worldwide. And to keep the price point down in today's climate is another plus. The standout star The newest one, Full Magnolia, has a lovely green (almost rhubarb) quality to it, but the standout for me is the Full Iris which has a crisp dryness. A lot of irissy perfumes can end up being too creamy but as du Parcq says, 'this one isn't too buttery or too green and steamy. It's a lovely place in between. Chanel 19 Poudre is one of the most classic, powdery iris fragrances out there and wearing it feels like putting on a pair of icy cool silk pyjamas. Full Iris has the same cooling feeling.' Whether these fragrance can sustain the revival of the Body Shop will remain to be seen, but trying these fragrances has reminded me of other British fragrance brands like Ffern, Olfactive O and To the Fairest, who all make accessible perfumes for under £100. In today's world where Gen Z are happy to splurge on an expensive retinol or complex skincare product to give them glass-like skin, will they appreciate the appeal of a beautifully crafted fragrance for under £50? Maybe the Body Shop are targeting its original audience which in my case, I am reeled in.
The Guardian
20-03-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
The Body Shop's suppliers to receive no more than a quarter of £219m owed
The Body Shop's suppliers, including small charities, local councils and cosmetics manufacturers, are to receive no more than about a quarter of the £219m owed to them when the ethical beauty retailer fell into administration, a report has said. The retailer, founded by Anita Roddick in 1976, now operates about 113 UK stores after it was rescued from administration by a consortium led by the British cosmetics tycoon Mike Jatania in September last year, saving 1,300 jobs. However, more than 80 British stores were closed with the loss of more than 750 jobs in branches and head office after the German restructuring specialist Aurelius put the Body Shop's UK arm into administration in February 2024, less than three months after taking control from the Brazilian group Natura. Stores also closed overseas, including in the US, Canada and Germany, as the overseas divisions were hit by the collapse of the parent group. In their latest update on progress, administrators from FRP revealed that Jatania's Aurea Group paid at least £44.3m for the retailer. They said UK tax authorities would be paid in full from the proceeds of the administration and workers would receive holiday pay owed. However, unsecured creditors, such as suppliers, charities and landlords, who were owed £219m in total, would receive only between 16% and 27% of the money owed. At the time of its collapse, administrators said unsecured creditors included Children on the Edge, a children's rights organisation working in countries including Bangladesh and Uganda; E-Cycle, a Welsh IT recycling service that employs disabled people; MindOut, a Brighton-based mental health group; and the organic certification body Ecocert. The Body Shop also owed millions of pounds to suppliers around the world with the most owed to Avon, the struggling cosmetics group owned by the Body Shop's former parent company Natura, at just over £13m for products it manufactured. The retailer's former owner Aurelius did not receive any payment. At the time of its collapse, administrators said the Body Shop's debts totalled more than £276m, of which £6.3m was tax owed, £44m was money owed to trade creditors, £63m from lease liabilities and other borrowing, and £143m to 'related suppliers' understood to be other parts of the business. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion The group is now run by the former Molton Brown boss Charles Denton, who said the business had achieved a profit in its first 100 days. The company, which once had 3,000 shops worldwide, continues to operate in 83 overseas markets with more than 1,300 outlets. Most of those stores are operated by franchise partners, including about 700 in Europe, 60 in Canada and nearly 100 in Australia, as well as India, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea.
