For years, we've known The Body Shop to be a fabulous cosmetics company with over 2,500 locations around the world that sells us products using ingredients found in Mother Nature to enhance our "natural beauty."
But, did you know that when it comes to being a socially conscious and socially responsible company, The Body Shop goes above and beyond the obvious decision to celebrate and preserve our planet? In 2008, The Body Shop launched the "Stop Violence in the Home" campaign to raise awareness and funds for women across the world affected by domestic violence. The campaign has raised over $4 million to date. Pretty impressive.
The buck doesn't stop there for The Body Shop. While the company already has a few successful social responsibility campaigns under its belt, it's decided to take on an issue that not too many companies would be eager to touch. SEX TRAFFICKING.
On Monday, August 2nd, The Body Shop initiated a campaign to put an end to sex trafficking of children and young people. If you visit the company's website, this message will all but literally jump off the page at you. You'll be prompted to sign a petition that The Body Shop has launched to encourage the US to change the laws that allow children to be arrested and prosecuted when they are the victims of sex trafficking and, instead, replace those laws with "safe harbor" law. In less than a week, this petition has garnered over 10,000 signatures. Check it out here.
I have yet to walk into a Body Shop location to see how the campaign translates in the store, but I must admit that I am very impressed with the firm stance that The Body Shop has taken on such a sensitive issue. It's not every day that you see a cosmetics company openly lobbying for social change. It's an amazing precedent to set, especially during a time when much of the cosmetics industry is combating the Safe Cosmetics Act currently being proposed by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and its allies.
So, what do you think of The Body Shop's campaign to stop sex trafficking? Does it make sense for the brand? Will it be successful? What else can the company do beyond the petition to deepen the impact of the campaign?
P.S. If you want to do more than sign the petition to support the campaign, a portion of the funds from The Body Shop’s $7 tube of “Soft Hands Kind Heart” hand cream will go to ECPAT, while funds from similarly themed $5 tote bags will go to the Somaly Mam Foundation.
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