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Anita Roddick
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dame Anita Perella Roddick, DBE (b. 23 October 1942, Littlehampton, Sussex, England) is the founder of The Body Shop, a cosmetics company dedicated to producing and retailing ethical beauty products. She founded The Body Shop in Littlehampton, England in 1976.
She was born to an Italian immigrant family. Her mother ran a café, and was in the habit of recycling. After leaving school, Anita trained as a teacher and travelled widely before her mother introduced her to Gordon Roddick, whom she married in 1970. The couple opened a restaurant, followed by a hotel. By the time they married, they already had one child and were expecting another.
Anita Roddick worked for the United Nations where she travelled extensively and met people from a number of different cultures. The first Body Shop was basic and at first sold only 15 lines. The Body Shop's full range now has over 300 products.
Roddick opened the first Body Shop with the aim of making an income for herself and her two daughters, while her husband was away in the United States. Her idea was to exploit some of the ideas she had formed while travelling around the world. She opened her second shop six months later. On Gordon's return, he joined the business. By 1991 the Body Shop had 700 branches and Anita Roddick was awarded the ([1]) 1991 World Vision Award for Development Initiative Award. In 1993 she told Third Way Magazine that 'The original Body Shop was a series of brilliant accidents. It had a great smell, it had a funky name. It was positioned between two funeral parlours – that always caused controversy. It was incredibly sensuous. It was 1976, the year of the heatwave, so there was a lot of flesh around. We knew about storytelling then, so all the products had stories. We recycled everything, not because we were environmentally friendly but because we didn’t have enough bottles. It was a good idea. What was unique about it, with no intent at all, no marketing nous, was that it translated across cultures, across geographical barriers and social structures. It wasn’t a sophisticated plan, it just happened like that.'[1]
In 1990 Roddick founded Children On The Edge, a charitable organisation which helps disadvantaged children in Eastern Europe and Asia ([2]).
Roddick is known for her campaigning work on environmental issues and is a member of the Demos think tank's advisory council.
By 2004, the Body Shop had 1980 stores, serving over 77 million customers throughout the world. The Body Shop was voted the second most trusted brand in the United Kingdom, and 28th top brand in the world.
In 2003, Roddick was knighted by the Queen, and officially styled as Dame Anita Roddick.
On 13 December 2005, the National Post reported that Roddick has decided to turn her back on the world of commerce and give away her fortune, worth some £51 million/$104,000,000([3]).
On 17 March 2006, L'Oreal purchased Body Shop for £652.3 million (as reported by The Independent). This has caused controversy, partly because L'Oreal is said to be involved in animal testing, and partly because it is said to be part-owned by Nestlé.
While Roddick has been a strong campaigner on ethical issues, Nestlé has been the subject of a long standing boycott call for its marketing of baby milk powder in third world countries. The organisation trades in 41 countries and employs around 6000 people, either directly or in franchises.
On the 14 February 2007, Roddick revealed she had been diagnosed with Hepatitis C. Anita said she contracted the virus through a blood transfusion while giving birth to her youngest daughter, Sam, in 1971. She is also suffering cirrhosis of the liver, one of the long-term effects of the disease. Roddick said: "I have Hepatitis C. It's a bit of a bummer but you groan and move on" ([4]).
- 1984 - Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year
- 1988 - Order of the British Empire
- 1991 - Center for World Development Education's World Vision Award, USA
- 1993 - Banksia Foundation's Australia Environmental Award
- 1993 - Mexican Environmental Achiever Award
- 1993 - National Audubon Society Medal, USA
- 1994 - Botwinick Prize in Business Ethics, USA
- 1994 - University of Michigan's Annual Business Leadership Award, USA
- 1995 - Women's Business Development Center's First Annual Woman Power Award, USA
- 1996 - Women's Center's Leadership Award, USA
- 1996 - The Gleitsman Foundation's Award of Achievement, USA
- 1997 - United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Honouree, Eyes on the Environment
- 1999 - British Environment & Media Award
- 1999 - Chief Wiper-Away of Ogoni Tears, Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, Nigeria
- 2001 - International Peace Prayer Day Organisation's Woman of Peace
- 2003 - DBE (Dame Commander of the British Empire)
- Roddick, Anita - The Body Shop Book - Macdonald, 1985 (ISBN 0-356-10934-8)
- Roddick, Anita - Mamatoto: the Body Shop Celebration of Birth - Virago, 1991 (ISBN 1-85381-421-0)
- Roddick, Anita - Troubled Water: Saints, Sinners, Truth and Lies about the Global Water Crisis - Anita Roddick Books, 2004 (ISBN 0-9543959-3-X) (with Brooke Shelby Biggs)
- Roddick, Anita - Business as Unusual - Anita Roddick Books, 2005 (ISBN 0-9543959-5-6) (Latest edition)