Roddick defends Body Shop sale
Opponents of animal testing are furious at the sale of The Body Shop to L’Oreal as they believe the French cosmetic company is still using animals in its research.
L’Oreal says it has not tested any of its products on animals since 1989 but it cannot guarantee that for the ingredients it buys from other companies.
The Body Shop founder Dame Anita Roddick says she thinks the sale is the best move for her company.
“Let’s be clear about this. Neither Gordon nor I would be doing this if we did not deeply believe that we are placing The Body Shop in safe hands. L'Oreal will respect our core values and The Body Shop will continue to be against animal testing, will remain a campaigning business and be committed to Community Trade.”
Ex-Body Shop employee Dawn Nordin is not impressed with this explanation.
“I worked for The Body Shop because I believed in its values and its anti-animal testing beliefs; I can’t say the same for L’Oreal so now I’m going to boycott it totally – especially as Nestle owns a quarter of L’Oreal and also has a terrible ethical record.”