The Ethical Claims of The Body Shop - Case Study Example

Ethical Claims of the Body Shop By Executive SummaryThe article reports on the ethical claims made by Body Shop, a multinational company based in Britain. Evaluation is based on the following claims: Community Fair Trade, Against Animal Testing, Environmental management system and the issue revolving around Trade Unions and Colombian Peasant Evictions. These are the controversial topics revolving around ethical claims by Body Shop. This company was founded on 26th march, 1976 and is based in Littlehampton (England). Its claim on Community Fair Trade is that a larger fraction of the company’s merchandise contains community trade elements. Since the company has not made any strides in minimizing the gap between the poor and the rich, this claim is considered a marketing strategy. The claim on the company’s Against Animal Testing policy is that none of their products are tested on animals and they campaign against animal cruelty. This statement brings about a debate since the ingredients of their products have been tested on animals by other companies even though it was not in relation to cosmetic purposes. The company is against its workers forming or joining Trade Unions because it is oppressive in the waging process. The employees are given low salaries and they are not allowed to campaign for better wages. Body Shop claims to support the farmers at the grass root level and yet it did nothing to show this support when one of its partners Daabon Organics, evicted peasant farmers from a ranch in Colombia. In environmental management, the company touches on the subject of protecting oceans but it has not contributed to this campaign in any way. It exploits this issue to market its products. Companies that publicize false statement in regard to work ethics should be prosecuted. The public should be sensitized on communist approaches to business. Companies found to be unethical should not receive ethical funding. The consumers should take charge and formulate consumer cooperatives to assist them be responsible for their immediate communities and welfare. Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction.................................................................................................................. 4. 2.0 About the Company..................................................................................................... 5 3.0 Environmental management system..........................................................................5, 6 4.0 Community Fair Trade................................................................................................ 6 5.0 Trade Unions..................................................................................................................6 6.0Against Animal Testing..................................................................................................6 7.0 Peasant Evictions........................................................................................................... 7 8.0Conclusion........................................................................................................................7, 8 9.0Recommendations............................................................................................................8 Reference list...........................................................................................................................9 1.0 Introduction This essay, is a report on the ethical claims of the Body Shop. It evaluates the performance of the Body Shop in relation to its ethical claims by measuring the size in which it lives up to these claims. The main purpose of this essay is to root out the inconsistencies that arise from the company’s report. The areas to be covered are: the company’s vision and mission, its ethical claims, evaluation of the company’s performance and the recommendations that will help the company to meet its customers’ wants. The Body Shop is under scrutiny because of the pedestal that it has set itself on in order to exploit people’s realism just to profit out of it. 2.0 About the Company It was founded on 26th March, 1976 and is based in Littlehampton (England). This company is a cosmetic shop with 2,500 franchised stores in 61 countries globally. In the company’s statement they believe that true beauty is more than a pretty face as it comes from the heart.9 It claims to harness the skills of artisan farmers in its goal to make brilliant products and their trade is considerate to the surrounding communities.1 criticism has sparked from the company’s claims to going green in an attempt to safeguard the planet. In light of this claim, it should be noted that the company once did a three week conveyance relay using a wooden make of a Body Shop Boston Round bottle which looks like a baton.2The growing environmental awareness campaign in countries, has led to the adoption of environmental auditing in companies. These audits aim to examine the best way on how to save money on waste handling plans and ways of sinking energy consumption. Issues such as these strike the heart of a corporation’s culture and they tend to play a role in determining whether profits go up or down. 3.0 Environmental management system In late 1991, the Body Shop adopted an environmental system which was a draft at the time, the European Eco-audit Regulation. It focused on the company’s sole manufacturing industry based in Littlehampton. Soon after in 1993, the draft became the European Union Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS).2In spite of other similar bodies to emerge in Britain, Body Shop adopted this system because they believed it worked to their best interest in executing the best environmental practice. To meet the standards set by EMAS, the following procedures must be complied with: Review of policy, introduction of management program, site based internal audit, setting of strategic objectives, preparation of environmental statement, verification of the statement, publication of the statement and registration. The following section looks at the issues that surround the controversy behind Body Shop’s claims. Body Shop has managed to go against all of its five core values: defending human rights, supporting community fair trade, opposing animal testing, activating self-esteem and protecting the earth. “The objective of a business should not only be about money, but, should be about its responsibility. It should be focussed on the public good, not private greed.” Roddick A. (founder of the Body Shop) 1 Body Shop claims that through consumerism, the world can be made a better place. This is a claim that tends to boost sales and is false. Consumerism is a problem that faces the environment and it is brought about by the large multinational corporations like Body Shop which claim to be the force of change. Capitalism itself is exploitative of the local resources. Body Shop in its ethical claims makes people believe that through buying products from their outlets rather than elsewhere, they are doing well to the animal, the environment and themselves. Considering the fact that Body Shop is a large cosmetic company, it poses more of a hazard to the environment and no amount of charity can compensate for the depletion it causes. Taking a look at the production, packaging and shipping of Body Shop products around the world gives a clear image of the impact of Body Shop’s operations on the environment. All these stages lead to substantial energy waste and the manufacturing process uses toxic chemicals. This reflects on how the needs of this large corporation surpass those of the communities around it. An example of its products is plastic bottles. These commodities are made with petrochemical and synthetic ingredients which come from other large pharmaceutical companies. Body Shop is not only destroying the environment single handed but it is promoting the same by making business contracts with companies of the same nature. Taking into account that the merchandise it distributed to 47 countries globally, Body Shop is not affecting the communities around it only but the global community. 4.0 Community Fair Trade This is a programme that Body Shop set up 2 decades ago. It is active in over 20 countries. The company claims to provide about 25, 000 individuals globally with vital income to shape their futures. On the basis of this, they add that a larger portion of their merchandises contain community trade elements. 5 This is basically a marketing campaign. The Body Shop has not made a try to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor. On the contrary, they are fuelling the widening of this gap through promoting consumerism (capitalism). Their myth is on beauty that true beauty. This beauty comes from the heart is merely a marketing strategy for the sale of their products. Like any other business, it has succeeded in creating a demand for their product where none existed to begin with. 5.0 Trade Unions Body Shop is opposed to their workers joining trade unions. This is because they pay them low wages in an attempt to keep labour costs as low as possible. This disparity to trade unions is to prevent their workers from coming together to demand better salaries and working conditions. 6.0 Against Animal Testing Body Shop claims that each one of their products is vegetarian and animal cruelty free. Indeed they were recognized for their Against Animal Testing policy (Humane Cosmetic Standard). This is because as a company they do not carry out animal testing for their products.7 However, the products they use have been tested on animals by other companies. It is a justified remark since they do not manufacture the ingredients used in their products. They hide behind clever disguises to fool the general population. Some of their ingredients were tested on animals prior 1991 and others were tested on animals later than that, just not for cosmetic purposes. Their enforcement of this policy is therefore in question.6 Other than animal testing, there is the issue of their product ‘Oceanus’. From a leaflet available in Body Shop outlets in the United Kingdom, the company states its concern with the threats to marine life and oceans and that it is on the forefront on the campaign against whaling. This is yet another of Body Shop’s campaign mechanisms to convince people to buy their ‘Oceanus Body Lotion’ and Oceanus colognes. This trend of exploiting idealism for profit is the reason that disparity between their policies and actions is evident. On the matter of protecting the oceans from exploitation, the company fails to give proposals of what could be done to safeguard them or state what steps it has taken to spearhead the realization of this goal. The reason why they have not done so is because the steps to be taken would work against the company. One of them is reducing the planet’s reliance on oil. In the company’s product leaflets another lie is unveiled. There is this one leaflet that portrays a woman of Chinese descent wearing lots of make-up. The leaflets start off by saying that one is born an individual and should live as such. Soon after, there is a list of products that the company proposes for women to purchase. The list is inclusive of: lipstick, eye shine, eye-shadow among others. This form of advertisement is aimed at making women feel inadequate about their natural beauty and it confines them to the range of cosmetic products they possess. This is in complete defiance of their beauty myth.6 7.0 Colombian Peasant Evictions For a company to have a clean slate on matters of ethics, then all factors both internal and external must be clear of disparities. Body Shop in its claim to have the welfare of peasant farmers at heart has failed. This is in light of the eviction process of peasant farmers in Colombia by one of Body Shop’s business partners. The company is Daabon Organics and it is a palm oil company that provides their product to companies like Body Shop in Britain. Following a court order, the company proceeded to use riot-police to evict the peasants from the ranch to develop a new plantation.3 in light of this conflict; Body Shop should have terminated its contract with Daabon Organics since it is a clear violation of Body Shop’s policies. The over 500 peasants had to rely on food aid from private organizations, in the camp they had to settle in.4 the following are recommendations on how to tackle these issues. 8.0 Conclusion Considering the fact that Body Shop is a large cosmetic company, it poses more of a hazard to the environment and no amount of charity can compensate for the level of depletion it causes on the planet. Body Shop is not an ethical company because it has gone against all of its ethical claims indirectly and directly. Legal step should be taken against this company for exploiting people’s realism to make a profit. 9.0 Recommendations People need to know the various alternatives to capitalism that exist. First off, people need to get together as a work force and challenge the exploitative and yet dominant institutions like Body Shop. The contradictory statements in company leaflets like that of Body Shop ‘let’s consume less and live more’ should be challenged on a legal basis.1 The consumers should take charge and formulate the cooperatives of consumer to help them take responsibility of their immediate communities and welfare. Governmental and private bodies that investigate and give awards to companies creating awareness should be thorough in their investigations. Taking the example of Body Shop which got recognition under Humane Cosmetic Standard for their Against Animal Testing Policy. Companies found to be unethical should not receive ethical funding. References List DTTI, Sustainability & IISD, 1993. Coming Clean: Corporate Environmental Reporting. London: DTTI.7United Nations (1992). Agenda 21. Geneva: UN. Investigating the Ethics Claims behind the Body Shop, Retrieved from, The Body Shop, Retrieved from, http://www.thebodyshop.com/content/services/aboutus.aspx Let the Body Shop Foundation Scented Celebrations Begin, Retrieved from, http://thebodyshopfoundation.org/let-the-body-shop-foundation-scented-celebrations-begin/ Rajeev S 12th Sept. 2009. Body Shop Ethics under Fire after Colombian Peasant Evictions. Peasant Evictions, Retrieved from, http://www.theguardian.com Lilfairy, October 2008, Ethical Issues in Business (Body Shop), the Body Shop in the McSpotlight, Retrieved from, http://www.mcspotlight.org/beyond/companies/bshop-faq.html Taylor, B et al 1994. Environmental Management Handbook. London Roddick, A1991. Body & Soul. London: Ebury Press. Read More