L'Oreal (nearly 50% Nestle owned) buy Body Shop

[chicaguapa]

Another company to boycott. Frankly I'm astonished and appalled that Anita Roddick agreed to sell her self-built business based on her ethical stance on animal testing to a company that - not only is boycotted by the anti-Nestle brigade - but also definitely tests their products on animals! I think the £130m will have helped her moral dilemma and she should now give back her knighthood. Her ethical views were easily compromised!

[Cadbury]

tht is dreadful.

[puff]

crikey!

[Papillon]

good to know but wow and boo hoo at Body Shop

[me23]

I'd like to say I can't believe this but sadly I can, what a hypocritical thing to do, loreal is everything the body shop was against and was set up to offer an alternative to animal testing unethical corporations.
very sad

[scienceteacher]

I find it quite amusing

[Tommy]

I was shocked - and have emailed the Body Shop to let them know. Perhaps it just goes to show that, at the end of the day, money really is everything

[suzywong]

but how much is Anita involved in the company these days, how much did she own.

It's a big shame, shame on you Anita, it kind of makes me glad that when I stayed at your pad in Sussex I looked in every room in the house when you were out just to have a nose.

[CHICagoMUM]

, I guess its true when they say "everyone has their price" .

[Nightynight]

what?????
am gobsmacked. Another crock of sh*t at the end of the eighties rainbow.


I havent bought Loreal stuff for years, refuse to use unnecessary products that have been tested on animals.

[Mum2Ela]

I thought companies weren't allowed to test products on animals any more. Am I wrong?

[Sponge]

The story:

LONDON - The Body Shop has agreed to £652m takeover by L'Oreal, which promised to leave the ethical cosmetics brand and its business intact and help it grow internationally.

L'Oreal's approach was endorsed by The Body Shop's co-founder Dame Anita Roddick, who will receive around £130m for the 18% stake she and her husband and co-founder Gordon Roddick own.

"For both Gordon and I, this is without doubt the best 30th anniversary gift The Body Shop could have received. L'Oreal has displayed visionary leadership in wanting to be an authentic advocate and supporter of our values.

"They understand what a maverick The Body Shop was in the business world and how we helped change the language of business, incorporating the action of social change, especially in human rights, animal welfare, the environment and community trade."

Roddick will remain in her current role as consultant to The Body Shop, becoming in addition a consultant to L'Oreal on community trade.

L'Oreal said it want to keep The Body Shop's existing management team and maintain strong relations with employees, franchisees, The Body Shop at Home consultants and suppliers. The chain has more than 2,000 stores in 53 countries after expanding abroad after intensified competition in the UK.

In contrast to the principles held to by The Body Shop, L'Oreal has been criticised for animal testing by animal rights charity Peta, although it responds that stopped animal testing for its entire range of cosmetics products in 1989 but it is compelled by European law to test some products on animals. It is also part-owned by Nestle, which was condemned by Oxfam for its business practices in Ethiopia.

Anita Singh of Peta said on learning of L'Oreal's interest in The Body Shop: "Big companies are learning that consumers care about compassionate cosmetics. We hope Body Shop convinces L'Oreal to adopt more ethical standards."

In addition, Roddick herself has been highly critical of L'Oreal's ethical practices in the past. A section of her website headed "Because You're Not Worth It" sees her rail against the global cosmetics company.

The move mirrors a recent trend for multinationals to snap up small, ethical brands, such as Cadbury Schweppes' takeover of Green & Black's, including the world's first Fairtrade chocolate bar, Maya Gold.

[NotQuiteCockney]

Ah, I didn't like Body Shop products that much, anyway.

[sansouci]

Everyone has a price, or so I've heard. Why'd she sell? Best 30th anniversary gift my fanny! what a load of shite.

[CarolinaMoon]

what is this thing about European law requiring some products to be tested on animals?

[velcrobott]

Well Body Shop is going to loose my business!

[Tommy]

is this a contination of Nestle trying to jump on the ethical fair trade band wagon?
I'm still really shocked and very disappointed. I shall have to find a new favourite perfume now

[Tinker]

Am v pissed off, love the Cocoa Butter shower stuff and body cream, leaves me smelling of chocolate all day.

[moyasmum]

Used to feel sorry for the body shop and its franchisees as I walked passed its sad,customer empty, shop in my town. Now i'll feel ok to keep walking , and not break my stride.

[donnie]

Tommy, as far as I know Nestle has already been allowed to claim fair trade status for certain products and business operations....so even buying fair trade is now dodgy.

[SenoraPostrophe]

OK - look, I'm very much in favour of the body shop's ethos and of fair trade/green issues generally, but I think nestle is being used as a scapegoat for the sins of capitalism in general to be honest.

The baby milk in africa thing was a scandal, but nestle's policy is now specifically against any form of marketing for formula - will somebody please tell me when the last time they were caught doing so was?

as for their "jumping on the fair trade bandwagon" - well, yes they are, but so what? the fair trade movement about giving a fair deal to the producers - it is not about not buying from big companies. likewise with the body shop - they're not going to start selling weird chemical preparations that have resulted in the deaths of thousands of bunnies now - that would be commercial suicide. surely it's a good thing that nestle is buying into fair trade and other such causes because it will bring those ideas to more people?(and more importantly, will mean more money for the producers, and less animal testing)

[ladyoracle]

erm...not very long ago, just because they've stopped in Africa...baby milk action are happily still on thir case.
\link{http://www.babymilkaction.org/CEMresponses/CEMRdec05.html#1\here}

[SenoraPostrophe]

ok, so where is babymilkaction's campaign against milupa (for example)?

[ladyoracle]

\link{http://www.babymilkaction.org/press/press14july05.html\here?}

[SenoraPostrophe]

actually as it happens, my own obstetrician gave me a sample pack of a particular brand of pregnancy vitamins (a blinkin expensive brand) and told me that I "must" take one a day.

I was quite put out.

I see BMA's point, that some women may think it means they have to buy them and that formula may therefore be better, but that really isn't in the same league as the things nestle were accused of in the 80s. and my point is that many big companies do dodgy things of that order all the time. if you're going to boycott all of them, then fine, but I often think it's weird that nestle have been singled out.