As a mere business strategy, corporate social responsibility (CSR)  can last only for a limited amount of time.  Yes, it is a wise strategy to increase a firm’s reputation and the value of its products, yet if the strategy is just for appearance’s sake public opinion, environmentalist groups and journalists will gladly expose the “fraud” on all mediums of communication. Reputation is probably one of the most important assets for a corporation and one of the hardest ones to restore once it has been ruined.  Right from the start, The Body Shop, a world famous brand for cosmetics and body products for men and women, made environmental commitment the core of the company’s values and marketing strategy. Yet in the past couple of years the company has experimented many high and lows, and has had to deal with accusations about the authenticity and genuine nature of their sustainable development programs.

On its official website, The Body Shop tells customers that beauty “is a feeling, a natural way of being, where character, self-esteem and humor are freely expressed and celebrated” (Source: http://www.thebodyshop-usa.com/beauty/values?cm_re=Tyra_SummerSale_Anon-_-Navigation-_-values ).  According to them the notion of beauty is closely and directly associated with nature and respecting and appreciating the way nature made us. For this reason the Body Shops’ s core values are the protection of our planet, the support of community trade, the defense of human rights, the promoting of self-esteem and finally fighting against animal testing. According to the website, “being a green retailer is in the company’s DNA” and their policy is “ Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” (Source: http://www.thebodyshop-usa.com/beauty/protect-our-planet). In the section of the planet protection core value, the company states only three initiatives: soap made of palm oil from sustainable sources, the use of hemp, grown free of pesticides with little fertilizer, a key ingredient for the skin care line and finally reusable bags sold in their stores. In supporting community trade, The Body Shop has stated on their community support page that they “actively seek out small-scale farmers, traditional craftspeople, rural cooperatives and tribal villages, all of them highly skilled experts at their work” (Source: http://www.thebodyshop-usa.com/beauty/community-trade ). With stores all over the world, it is inevitable to wonder how can “small-scale farmers” be part of a large-scale production. The website fails to explain in great detail how exactly are the local farmers involved in the production process of the company. Yet, articles on the web appear to give some concrete examples of The Body Shop’s commitment to the local communities, for example the company’s “moisturizing socks are produced by Community Trade Supplier, Craft Aid in Mauritius, and are providing employment to 160 people, 40% of which have disabilities” (Source: http://social-corporate-responsibility.suite101.com/article.cfm/corporate-social-responsibility-at-the-body-shop). Reconciling business with corporate citizenship is not always the easiest and most obvious thing to do for any firm; especially when a company is trying to expand and grown internationally.

Since 2006, the year of its sale to one of the world’s largest cosmetic brands L’Oreal, the Body Shop’s reputation and sales have suffered greatly.  A lot of customers saw this move as a complete sell-out of ethical values and beliefs to a giant profit-driven cosmetics brand. Pro animal organizations started organizing protests asking consumers to boycott the Body Shop since it was not part of a L’Oreal, a firm that tests on animals and has been at the centre of controversies for not bringing about any concrete change to this policy.  “Animal welfare organisations are currently reviewing their endorsement of The Body Shop’s cruelty-free policy. Naturewatch has already removed the company from its cruelty free list because, as part of its endorsement criteria, it includes the record of the parent company” ( Source: http://www.naturewatch.org/news/docs/Naturewatch_protest_against_Body_Shop.pdf). Despite the fact that L’Oreal has declared it has stopped animal testing, activists are not convinced and they demand major proof and transparency on the issue.

Right from the start, the mission of The Body Shop appeared to be much more than selling cosmetics and doing business. As early as 1985, the company allied with Green Peace on a save the whales campaign. Anita Roddick, founder of the brand, has always been involved in development programs, coming against the global trade system more than once. Yet as The Body Shop continued to grow and expand all over the world, her founder started struggling in order to comply with suppliers, investors and business demands, without putting aside the firm’s values and core beliefs. The cosmetics brand has been involved in many controversies and accused of not truly endorsing the company’s “green values”. In today’s business world, in order to be successful, firm need to reconcile business with corporate citizenship. Yet, most importantly in order to be credible they need to truly endorse in an authentic fashion the causes they are representing.