Body Shop Acquisition Polarizes Corporate Reformists
by Steven Silvers
www.stevensilvers.com
Posted Mar 22nd 2007,
Read 199 times since then.
Acne Medication Potential Side Effects Patients with mild or occasional acne may be able to treat themselves without the use of prescription medication. Such remedies may include an alteration in diet and exercise habits, regular cleansing to remove residue and buildup on the skin, choosing the right cosmetics and eliminating stress. But for some individuals, this simply isn’t enough.…
Handy Solutions To Some Plumping Problems At Home Faucets generally are stable and reliable in all places like kitchens and bathrooms. Whenever one of them goes out of order, it is a great mess with spilled and over flown water making our life miserable. Be prepared to deal with water spraying into the room at great force. It is more than expected in normal home conditions. Panic doesn’t pay –…
Skin Care – Home Remedies for Skin Allergies A healthy and radiant skin is one of the most sought after things, perhaps by all women! If you have it, you cannot hide it – but yes, you need to maintain it. The key to a glowing skin is right there within your arm’s range. One can attain a healthy supple skin though a three-tier approach involving diet, exercise and proper cosmetics. Here is a…
Cosmetics Contract Manufacturing Cosmetics contract manufacturing supports the design and manufacture of cosmetic products. A person with an innovative idea for a cosmetic product can seek the help of a cosmetic contract manufacturer, if he does not have the resources to produce it. Cosmetic contract manufacturers usually help their customers to improve the design of their…
Lip Augmentation - The Raw Facts Lip augmentation is one of the most popular cosmetic procedures. Last year, approximately 264,000 people underwent lip-plumping surgery. With fuller lips one can create a more youthful, vibrant look. This is primarily achieved through injections and grafting. Injections: using small needles, the lip is filled with a soft substance to create a…
For many corporate reformists and progressives, The Body Shop has been the poster child for corporate responsibility toward the environment, human rights and fair trade. L’Oreal, on the other hand, has represented the evil empire, and has been harshly criticized by The Body Shop founder Anita Roddick for animal testing and other unethical practices.
So it stands to figure that activists are split in their reaction to The Body Shop’s decision to be acquired by L’Oreal.
In one camp are the pragmatists who accept the relationship between The Body Shop’s social welfare ideals and the profit-driven gluttony of shopping malls where the company sells its products.
They’re willing to take Roddick at her word when she says that she’s “done what any founder ought to do. I have done all I can to protect the future for thousands of employees and community trade suppliers… I do not believe that L’Oreal will compromise the ethics of The Body Shop. That is after all what they are paying for and they are too intelligent to mess with our DNA.”
Even Brooke Shelby Biggs of activist site CorpWatch thinks the acquisition could be a good thing. “Maybe Roddick is right,” she writes. “Maybe a vastly expanded market will be good for the communities from which The Body Shop sources its products.”
The Body Shop is, after all, a consumer business that sells stuff nobody absolutely needs. So, she figures, “if you’re going to buy Body Butter anyway, it’s good to know you’re helping women in Ghana feed their families at the same time.”
In the other camp are the outraged ideologues, violently shaken from their convenient rationalization that a $732 million, publicly traded corporation existed primarily to validate their anticorporate beliefs. The UK-based Ethical Consumer threatens to lower The Body Shop’s “ethical rating,” adding the company to a list of activist group boycotts that already includes Microsoft, Bacardi, Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, Israel, Maxwell House, Procter and Gamble, Shell, Rolls Royce and the whole country of Canada.
Will this stop The Body Shop from leveraging L’Oreal’s resources to expand as a global, socially responsible brand? Nope. But the villianizing and boycotts will further the polarization between corporate activists who want to get results by working within the market economy – and those who dream of destroying it altogether.
“Is The Body Shop window-dressing, or is it an admission that doing good can actually be good for business?” writes Biggs. “Guess it depends on how cynical you are. Personally, I get irked at progressives who attack other progressives for not being pure enough, for questioning any motives that don’t keep us marginalized. Seems to me there’s a place for open minds and optimism. At least until they are proven to be misplaced.”
Amen to that.
. . . . . . . . . .
Vying for Those Desirable Cosmetics Patients Dentists going for the “gold ring” of cosmetic dentistry practice might find the reach may exceed their grasp. Just about any dental practitioner answers to the title, “Cosmetic Dentist.” But placing the C-word on a shingle may not automatically impress today’s patients. A barrage of media accounts of vanity healthcare adventures has created a new…
Shopping For Cosmetics The modern world has made cosmetics a much in demand product for both male and female and for all people no matter what their age and status in life is. Some people have gotten so accustomed with using cosmetics that they would not be caught dead without them. This growing dependence on the use of cosmetics is responsible for the booming cosmetics…
Cosmetics & Toiletries - Global Outsourcing & Private Label Manufacturing Hi, My name is Rasik Botadra, am currently working as an Analyst with business news magazine & new papers. I am writing this article in view of India emerging as Highly potential Global Outsourcing & Solutions Provider for finished Consumer products & General Merchandise. India has always kept her stand in Global competition right from the…
The History of Hyaluronic Acid Treatments While HA has dramatically increased in popularity and use within the cosmetics community, the vast majority of people remain unaware of its unique history. Also known as hyaluronan and glycosaminoglycan, it plays a key role in both tissue hydration and lubrication. Stated simply, the compound takes years off the life of skin; it helps make it…
Cancer-Causing Ingredients in Your Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Cosmetics make you attractive, but some of the ingredients in your cosmetics and personal care products may be killing you! If you’re like most Americans, you may be unknowingly poisoning yourself and your family everyday with the many cancer-causing ingredients in today’s cosmetics, toiletries and personal care products. Makeup, shampoo, hair…
Why Switch to All Natural Cosmetics? The human skin wraps and protects our bodies. It constitutes a living, dynamic tissue system. It has the remarkable ability to absorb applied products, partially or completely, into the bloodstream. In fact, up to 60% of the products we use on our skin are absorbed and deposited into the circulatory system (Fairley, 2001). For instance, the…
Dead Sea Products - Mineral Care Cosmetics The Dead Sea has been known as a source of healing and therapy for those who are suffering from various skin problems. Many people come each year to bath in the Dead Sea Minerals water which consist of a very high concentration of Salt and Minerals. The ingredients of the water in the Dead Sea is a real natural miracle and is considered by many…
Fuller Lips Without Injections or Surgery? Once again, very full lips are one of the most sought after "assets", thanks in large part to a very popular and sexy actress that seems to appeal to both men and women. Plastic surgeons say the most often requested lips they would like to imitate are Angelina Jolie's. And who can blame them? You can't deny the sensuality and femininity of a full…
Skin Care Cosmetics – Are They Helpful Or Harmful? Is the use of skin care cosmetics helpful, or are they harmful to us? Healthy and beautiful skin is a great confidence booster. Some people have natural beauty and do not tend to use any skin care cosmetics, whereas there are others who just do not use skin care cosmetics due to a number of reasons. Some people feel that skin care cosmetics can…
How To Make Your Own Baby Cosmetics Conventionally produced cosmetics and personal care products often contain poisonous substances, many of which were synthetically derived from petrochemicals. These ingredients have the potential for causing cancer, birth defects, central nervous system disorders, allergic respiratory reactions, and skin and eye irritations. Many chemicals found…
Selecting Useful Skin Care Cosmetics Every individual has different skin types and some people are born with naturally beautiful skin. Some people never have to worry about using skin care cosmetics and others choose not to use them because they are worried that they are too harsh on their skin. However, since most people today are concerned with their skin’s appearance the cosmetics…
How To Apply Loose Powder Mineral Cosmetics MINERAL COSMETICS MINERAL MAKEUP USERS GUIDE Applying Loose Mineral Makeup Foundations Tap a small amount of powder into the top and swirl your brush into it (for best results we recommend using a Kabuki brush). Tap the bottom of the handle with the brush head facing upward on a hard surface (e.g. Bathroom counter). This settles the powder into…
An Effective Wrinkle Cure Hey, are you in your mid-thirties and are on the search for skin care treatment, especially wrinkle cure? Don’t take it personally if you are not in that section. After all I have seen the recent market reports that people are in the frenzy to find some cosmetics applicable for wrinkle cure. Thus it will be good on my part to provide some useful…
Cosmetics- How To Stop Them Causing Facial Problems Skin Cosmetics- Good and also Bad For Some Of Us Men and women, both use cosmetics. Women use more of color cosmetics that men don’t. But men use many after shave lotions, moisturizers, creams and lotions on their face. We all want to look good and young. Some of the ingredients may cause skin problems that may take a long time to disappear after…
Are Cosmetics the Real Cause of Your Acne Problems? Acne is a result of a combination of predispositions and events. However, many people believe that one of the main triggers of acne may be the use of makeup at a very young age. Young skin may not be fully able to deal with being covered by makeups and moisturizers and the like. This could possibly result in clogging of the pores and eventually…
The views of the authors are owned by them alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of
