PARIS, Aug 31, 2006/ FW/ --- The Body Shop, formed in England in 1976 by Anita Roddick, has long been associated with ethical business practices but has up until now seemed content to leave full on glamour to its more mainstream competitors.

With a marketing strategy which has always centred on the company’s commitment not to test its products on animals the arrival in stores this September of a collection of cosmetics entitled ‘Make Me Fabulous’ may seem to some a little strange. Delve a little deeper and lines such as Red Carpet and Jet Set are sure to leave any earth mother positively perplexed.

The explanation for this sleeker, glossier presentation is of course the fact that the Body Shop was bought earlier this year by the French cosmetics giant L’Oréal for a sum of £625 million ($1,180 million). Voila a range of over 250 products packaged in sleek metal containers with the emphasis firmly on luxury and sophistication.

Die-hard environmentalists may frown upon the deal but the company’s change of image doesn’t seem to have lead to it abandoning its conscience. Roddick’s founding philosophy of using natural ingredients, trading equitably and not testing on animals remains intact and some observers have expressed the hope that this approach could even influence L’Oréal’s company policy. The aloe used in the Body Shop’s skin care products for example is grown and harvested without using pesticides or preservatives and this constitutes one of 30 fair trade schemes which provide a durable source of income for over 15 000 farmers in 23 different countries.

Make me Fabulous…