January 27th, 2009
Inspiring Women: Dame Anita Roddick
The Body Shop is one of my favourite shops. I love the products from the body butter to the lip gloss. Yes, I turn into quite the girly-girl every time I step into my local store. But, it’s not just the great quality and range of products that attracts me to The Body Shop. The company’s values is what allows me to walk in, happy to outlay money for that delicious-smelling hand lotion that I don’t really need, but is too good to pass up. The Body Shop carries only cruelty-free products, they ensure to support fair trade and respect for human rights through their Community Trade programme, and are extremely environmentally conscious. All this, and great products - what’s not to love?
It is not surprising then that I find the founder of The Body Shop, Dame Anita Roddick, to be quite the inspiring woman. Not only was she the founder of a global company with high values, she was a human rights activist, author, mother and wife. Sadly, Anita died at the age of 64 on September 10, 2007. She left behind her husband, two daughters, a successful company and a legacy of extraordinary activism.
Anita wrote a number of books on entrepreneurship and social responsibility. In a day and age where money seems to be the only focus of businesses, it is refreshing to see a company that is financially successful and yet still holds true to core, moral values. As an activist, Anita also wrote a number of books about activism and how to make better choices to change the world. It seems Anita was not deterred by being just one person and realised the impact she could make on the world - which she most certainly did.
A quote I read of Anita’s really sums up this woman to me and why I admire her so much: “And I constantly question myself: how can I bring values into an industry that is certainly not values-laden?”. Anita constantly aimed to ensure that her values remained at the core of everything she, and her company, did. We are always so quick to justify ignoring values because “that’s just the way things are”. Anita aimed to change those ways, not her values.
One of Anita’s main focuses in her later years was the case of the Angola Three in Louisiana, USA. These three black American political activists of the 1970s have served an inhumane number of years in solitary confinement. Robert Wilkerson was released after 29 years of solitary confinement, while Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox continue to serve life sentences after spending nearly 36 years in solitary confinement. How anyone can even survive that sort of experience is beyond me. You can read more about the Angola Three at angola3.org. Sadly, Anita did not live to see the news of these men being released from solitary confinement, but no doubt her campaigns and efforts had an impact on seeing this through.
Dame Anita Roddick truly was a force of good. She was a pioneer for rights (both human and animal) and an inspiration to all businesswomen and entrepreneurs. She was ahead of her time calling for eco-friendly products and fair trade well before it became fashionable to do so, and a champion of the oppressed and persecuted. You can learn more about Anita, the work she did and the ongoing campaigns she supported and founded at her website: anitaroddick.com
January 28th, 2009 at 12:05 am
Thanks, Lorissa, for reminding me about an extraordinary woman. Anita Roddick was ahead of her time and left before her time. Her influence in the business world is missed.
January 30th, 2009 at 10:05 am
I love Body Shop products too. They always make you feel pampered and there are such heavenly scents in their products. It’s also good to buy products where you know the whole system is geared to fairness and sound ecologically. Anita certainly was a good role model.