LIVING OUR VALUES
Values repOrt 2009
“Listen for the voice of
the farmer. If you cannot
hear it, what you are
doing is wrong.”
anita roddick
COmmUNITY TRADE NATURAL INgREDIENTS
introducing new suppliers into the Community trade family is something that the body shop does not do lightly. it requires a
considerable commitment of resources on our behalf and generates expectations of change and hope amongst our producer
communities. Whilst striving to maintain our commitments to our existing portfolio, we intend to maintain the momentum
of development in Community trade ingredients, and search for more opportunities to convert conventional supply to a fairly
traded option where the opportunities arise. Over the last 2 years we have been delighted to announce the launch of several
new Community trade relationships:
TEA TREE AND SUNfLOwER Our organic tea tree oil is sourced from
kOOfa, the kenya Organic Oil farmers’ association. a group of 384 farmers,
we are working with the association, building their capacity to supply 100%
of our requirement for this oil. from the middle of 2009 we will also start to
source organic sunflower seed oil from kOOfa. kenya’s recent past has been
marked by political upheaval, and its farmers struggle with the effects of
climate change and the uncertainties of the global market place. Connecting
into Community trade gives the farmers a level of comfort previously
unknown, with the potential to invest back into their community and plan
for the future.
COCONUT Coconut has long been one of our most popular ingredients and
in 2008 we converted our source to a Community trade solution. We finalised
the arrangements with an organic small-holder association ‘Women in
business development inc’ (Wibd) in samoa to begin sourcing organic virgin
coconut oil from a group of the island nation’s rural farmers. this oil will be
used in many of our products, including our best-selling Coconut bath and
body range, reformulated to accommodate a virgin oil, and re-launched in
2009. Wibdi’s outreach work with the farmers and villagers of samoa is
vital in preparing them to adapt to climate change, and through access to
micro-finance schemes, to create new, local businesses less dependent
on foreign remittances.
ALCOHOL ethanol is the major ingredient used in our fragrance and home
fragrance category, used to prolong the scent of a fragrance as well as
to carry the fragrance itself. Our demand for ethanol from this product
category is considerable. from 2009 we will start to buy our ethanol for our
fragrance from rural farmers in the mountains of ecuador who together form
a cooperative called “CadO”. Working with a range of local ngOs, CadO will
be using a portion of its trade income from the body shop to focus on the
many children whose families belong to cane farming communities in this
challenging, remote part of the country.
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