It is the end of an era for the Body Shop. Thirty years after its first store opened in Brighton, the ethical retailer is to be taken over by the French cosmetics giant L'Oréal in a £650m deal. Dame Anita Roddick, who stands to make about £130m from the sale, argues that it is a good thing for the company she founded. Others are calling it a gross betrayal of the Body Shop's founding principles. The Ethical Consumer magazine has threatened to slash the Body Shop's ethical rating if the deal is completed. It cites the fact that L'Oréal tests its products on animals and is itself a quarter owned by Nestlé, the bête noire of anti-poverty campaigners.
Without doubt, this deal tarnishes the brand and raises uncomfortable questions for Dame Anita. Her homespun philosophy of ethical business practices, feminism and environmental sensitivity seem a world away from the practices of the world's biggest cosmetics company.
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