A Fistful of Causes

Following in the entrepreneurial spirit of her Italian family, Dame Anita Roddick founded the Body Shop in 1976, a cosmetic store that gained a reputation for principled campaigning - a business who’s mission statement included dedicating itself to the pursuit of social change. It used shops to communicate human rights and environmental issues to its customers.

Anita believed business to have the power to do good. By the time she stepped down as Body Shop chair in 2001, there were numerous stores worldwide. Since, Anita then started her own communications company Anita Roddick Publications which, as she put it, manufactured “weapons of mass instruction” and explored ways to advance the same things she’d always cared about - human rights, environment and creative dissent. Recorded some time before her death in september 2007, Anita shares here why she had undiminished enthusiasm for lifelong causes. Length 38 mins.

Photo Joel Anderson

Anita's legacy lives on at www.anitaroddick.com