metics. Jojoba is obtained from a desert plant and is a substitute for sperm
whale oil. Apart from helping protect whales, there are other powerful
reasons for using oil from the desert plant. Jojoba can be grown on some of
the poorest land in the world, which is totally unsuitable for conventional
crops, and in regions where people are living in abject poverty.
This approach isn’t restricted to far-away places. Chris Elphick of
Community Learning Initiatives suggested that perhaps Roddick might
care to go and practise some of her philosophies in Easterhouse, an area
just to the east of Glasgow which has 56 per cent male unemployment and
frequent deaths from solvent abuse. Her response was predictable. Within
eight months she had won over all the local councillors, opened a soap
factory called Soapworks and dedicated 25 per cent of all profits to the
local community. When asked about unions, she told them: ‘You only need
unions when management are bastards. We will talk to you one to one if
there is a problem.’ Employees are treated with respect and made to feel
that their roles are important. Soapworks is involved in the community
and has funded the building of a playground for local children. In the first
full trading year Soapworks produced over 4 million bars of soap and
expected to produce more than 15 million bars in 1990. A bath-salt filling
line has been added, and the workforce now stands at 85.
The commitment to ‘profits with principles’ is also evident in initiatives
for employees, such as the £1 million invested in 1989 in building and
equipping a workplace nursery for head office staff.
Journalist Bo Burlingham claims that the campaigning approach is part of
a carefully researched and executed business strategy. Roddick wants
causes that will generate excitement and enthusiasm in the shops, and says:
You educate people by their passions, especially young people.You find ways
to grab their imagination. They’re doing what I’m doing. They’re learning.
Three years ago I didn’t know anything about the rain forest. Five years ago
I didn’t know anything about the ozone layer. It’s a process of learning to be
a global citizen. And it produces a sense of passion you won’t find in a depart-
ment store.No advertising
An important aspect of The Body Shop’s product philosophy is that, in
keeping with its claim to be the most honest cosmetics company, it does not
call its products ‘beauty’ products, nor does it use idealized images of
women to sell them. Roddick explains:
The cosmetics industry is bizarre because it’s run by men who create needs
that don’t exist, making women feel incredibly dissatisfied with their bodies.296 Relationship Marketing