This year, marks 30 years since the inception of Community Trade programme - the first and still the widest-reaching programme. The initiative ensures The Body Shop brings its customers naturally inspired products, bursting with high-quality and beneficial ingredients.
Through the Community Trade programme, The Body Shop has helped facilitate an international market and expand the business skills of their Community Trade partners, by helping them to achieve sustainability and flourish.
The Body Shop delivers great, naturally-inspired products to its customers in line with the three main aims of the Community Trade programme today: transforming marginalised communities around the world, preserving traditional crops and farming methods and promoting sustainability in farming. The programme essentially challenges the status quo and can include initiatives such as eradicating high use of fertiliser or pesticide, protesting low wages and eliminating non-sustainable practices that can lead to habitat loss and poor working conditions.
A firm believer in empowering people, The Body Shop’s founder Dame Anita Roddick founded Community Trade with the goal of giving developing communities a hand up, rather than a hand out. Thirty years on, Community Trade remains the strongest fair trade programme in the beauty industry and by the end of 2017 will have 23 Community Trade ingredients plus accessories and gift products sourced from 30 supplier communities across 22 countries.
New ingredients
The Body Shop has now added four new ingredients to the Community Trade roster, bringing the total to 23.
New almond oil from the Alicante region of Spain, banana puree from Ecuador, British rose essence sourced organically from Herefordshire, England and mango seed oil from India will be used in The Body Shop products throughout 2017.
Positive trade and education
The Body Shop is proud to work in partnership with its suppliers and currently works with over 20,000 producers worldwide, paying fair prices, offering price assurance and a long-term relationship, and providing access to an international market. The programme has also had a life-changing impact on the families and communities of the producers involved. As part of Community Trade, The Body Shop pays a premium to communities in need, which has been invested in many vital facilities including healthcare centres, wells, hygiene stations, as well as 50 schools educating over 25,000 children. Trade has also helped to preserve 8,000 hectares of rainforest. The programme illustrates the true power that trade can have on societies.
The future
But that is not all. As part of its Enrich Not Exploit™ Commitment The Body Shop has pledged to double the size of its renowned programme from 19 to 40 ingredients by 2020, a goal on which it has already made progress. Its actions will help up to 40,000 economically vulnerable people access work around the world.
