Our sustainability commitments
“Social and environmental dimensions are woven into the fabric of the company itself. They are neither first not last among our objectives, but an ongoing part of everything we do."
- Dame Anita Roddick
This is what we’re doing to fight for a fairer, more beautiful world and how you can help.
Community Fair Trade recycled plastic
In 2019, we launched our Community Fair Trade partnership with Plastics For Change to help address the plastic pollution crisis in India. Through buying recycled plastic from waste pickers to use in our packaging, we have been able to help create a market for fairly traded* recycled plastics – all while supporting the livelihoods of marginalised waste pickers.
*In 2019, Plastics for Change was verified by the World Fair Trade Organization as a Fair Trade Guarantee member.
In our first year we purchased around 200 tonnes of Community Fair Trade recycled plastic, which we used in shampoo and conditioner bottles. Since the start of our partnership with Plastics For Change, from 2019-2026 we have sourced around 3,280 metric tonnes of recycled plastic. We continue to explore how to scale our use of recycled plastics from Plastics for Change in our portfolio so that we can continue working towards reducing plastic waste and supporting the livelihoods of marginalised waste pickers.
Recycled materials in packaging
Where possible, we include the highest levels of PCR plastic, aluminium and glass in our packaging.
Today, the majority of our PET plastic product packaging contains 100% recycled material, and a significant proportion of this comes from Community Fair Trade materials through our partner, Plastics For Change.
Advocating against animal testing
We want to ban the cruel practice of animal testing in cosmetics, forever.
We’ve been fighting for the rights of animals since 1989. Approximately 80% of countries currently have no laws around animal testing, and together with our friends at Cruelty Free International, our Forever Against Animal Testing campaign is working towards a worldwide ban on animal tested cosmetics… forever.
On October 4th, 2018, World Animal Day, The Body Shop and Cruelty Free International took 8.3 million signatures against cosmetic animal testing to the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, to create a global framework to end animal testing while advancing the United Nations’ sustainable development agenda. The petition signatures, collected from supporters around the world in just 15 months, call on the countries of the UN to formalize an international framework to end cosmetic animal testing, everywhere and forever.
In 2021, The Body Shop with Cruelty Free International has joined Dove and PETA to pressure the European Commission to ensure that the 2013 ban on animal testing is upheld with the introduction of new EU regulations on chemical testing.
Wellbeing of Future Generations Bill
We are thrilled to be part of the Steering Group for The Wellbeing of Future Generations Bill. The Bill, which is being led through Parliament by The Big Issue founder, Lord Bird, will tackle the climate crisis, poverty, and pandemics head on in the future if passed into law.
For us to protect future generations, we need to make a change and the #TodayForTomorrow campaign, powered by The Big Issue is backing the bill to do exactly that. Together, we can give a voice to future generations.