decisions, decisions... (The Body Shop)

Member Name: flipflopgirl

Product:	The Body Shop
Date:	15/01/04 (146 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good ethical values, great quality products, lovely smelling shops

Disadvantages: some doubt the good work they do, their shops are all reeeeeally small

Odd name for a shop, really. The Body Shop. And yet it is an extremely well known name, recently voted the 27th most respected company in the world by the Financial Times and the 2nd best brand in the retail sector by the 1997 Interbrand survey (see www.thebodyshop.com for more details). Born in Brighton in 1976, for almost thirty years now The Body Shop has been providing natural, environmentally friendly products on the high street, at high street prices (but more about that later).

There are The Body Shop stores across the UK, and more internationally. All stores have the same range of products. I personally have visited probably ten or eleven stores across the north of England and have found that prices are uniform throughout these stores, as is the décor and general style of the shop. The inside of The Body Shop is always neat and tidy, and the products arranged in attractive displays. They are usually arranged by ?type?; so all white musk products are together, all spirit of moonflower products together, etc., allowing for easier browsing of a certain range. This makes it great for buying gifts, as you can buy a collection of products from one range, or usually there is an attractively packaged gift set for each different set of products. Another effect this has is a pretty colour-coded appearance, as for the most part the products are arranged in blocks of colour. There is a downside to the shops though: never have I visited a store which is larger than my front room. I don?t know if this is to fit in with the ethics of the store etc., i.e. lower overheads to pass on cheaper prices/more charity work or if it is just because The Body Shop is tight, but it does get annoying.

So on to the actual products. The Body Shop has many different products for skin and body care, as well as a make-up range. I will deal with each of these in turn.

Bath and Shower Products: A range of bath foams and shower gels are available. Notable are the Bajik
and Africa spa ranges, with deep cleansing properties for a spa experience in your bathroom. Also The Body Shop manufacture various types of soap, from satsuma, or grapeseed types to tea tree oil , or perhaps sesame. As with all other products, there is a range of unfragranced products, for those with fragrance sensitive skin. It is possible to mix your own fragrance in with these products, if you have one which you know your skin does not react to. I have used a variety of the shower gels and find that they make my skin smell lovely and foam up well, especially when used with a body puff.

Body care: This involves products such as lip and body butters and body scrubs. The Body Shop actively encourages the controversial use of hemp (the cousin plant of cannabis) in its products, claiming it is excellent for regenerating skin and that the active component is barely present in their products. I have used a couple of the hemp products, but found that I could gte the same quality (and a nicer smell!) from other products in the range. I love the papaya lip butter, but I find with this and the body butter that they don?t last very long. There is a wide range of fragrances, from the fruitier to the more earthy such as the shea. An extremely popular range is the coconut products, although I personally am not a fan of the scent.

Hair care: The Body Shop has a wide range of shampoo and conditioners, although it should be noted here that the bottles are really annoying as they can?t be squeezed so it?s hard to get all the product out. This is one for storing upside down as it reaches the bottom of the bottle. The products work fairly well but if your hair is anything other than perfectly normal you might find it better to use another brand, more specialised in haircare.

Skin care: The Body Shop has popular vitamin C and vitamin E ranges that claim to have excellent effects on the skin, and I have used the vitamin E range with good results. The vitam
in C range is aimed at those with aging skin but claims to add an extra vitality and firmness to your skin.

Man care: A range of products especially designed to keep your man soft and smelling nice :) Including hair gel, aftershave balm and sun cream. I have never tried any of these products (don?t know any guys close enough to their feminine sides!) so unfortunately cannot comment on product quality. However I can say that the packaging is plain.

Make up: My favourite section! Make up is attractively packaged, and there is a large range. Most colours have previously been neutral, earthy colours but recently new ranges are amazing with a greater variety of stronger shades. The range tends to focus on skin care a lot ? The Body Shop?s make up is apparently the only make up range containing a certain nut oil which is some kind of ?super ingredient? as far as moisturizing is concerned. As a general rule I find all make up purchased from The Body Shop to be durable (and it gets lots of abuse!) and there are testers of every shade of every product in the shop so you can be sure of what you are getting.

Accessories: Products such as body puffs and hairbrushes. These are of reasonable quality but nothing particularly special.

In almost all the other The Body Shop op?s, the price of their products is cited as a con. It is true that they could be considered expensive, but this really does depend on your point of view. If you usually wear, say, Collection 2000 or 17 make up, you might consider this expensive. However, if you are a regular at the Clinique or BeneFit counters, then The Body Shop probably looks on the cheap side. You are looking, as a general rule, at about £5.00 to £6.00 for a bath foam or shower gel, £3.00 to £4.00 for a lip balm, and maybe £4.00 to £5.00 for a shampoo. Make up is a little more expensive: between £4.00 and £7.00 for an eyeshadow and the same for a lipstick. Make up your own minds whether this is good value f
or money. Personally I think, considering the great work The Body Shop does in the community (which we will discuss later), the fact that all packaging is recyclable, the lack of animal testing and the luxurious, good quality products, that these are prices I am willing to pay.

I have never been disappointed by the customer service in a Body Shop store. Staff are friendly (and, as I have discovered, willing to listen if you?ve had a bad day. Good for me but perhaps the people behind me were seething!) and although they always approach you in a possibly intimidating way, they merely ask, ?can I help you? and retreat if you say no. On the other hand, if you admit to being lost (although how you couldn?t find exactly what you needed in one of those poky little stores is beyond me) then you are presented with an array of products, which all meet your needs without being pressured to buy. All assistants (I don?t think I have ever seen a male one, but I?m sure they exist) have great product knowledge.

Now finally, on to the issue that seems to cause most controversy when talking about The Body Shop. The company has a number of ?ethics? and ?company values?. Some claim they stick to them, others would disagree. Here are the company?s basic values, from their website:

»We consider testing products or ingredients on animals to be morally and scientifically indefensible -- The Body Shop was the first international Cosmetic Company to be approved by animal rights groups across the world under the Humans Cosmetics Standard. In Nov 1996 The Body Shop presented the EU with a petition signed by 4 million people against animal testing.

»We support small producer communities around the world who supply us with accessories and natural ingredients -- The Body Shop only trades through Community Trade, which supports small-scale enterprises in disadvantaged areas.

»We know that you're unique, and we'll always treat you like an indivi
dual. We like you just the way you are ? This one?s a bit cheesy. Basically The Body Shop sponsors research into self-esteem, fights domestic violence and is generally nice to people to keep them happy.

»We believe that it is the responsibility of every individual to actively support those who have human rights denied to them -- In 1991, The Body Shop Foundation founded The Big Issue ? the newspaper that homeless people sell in most cities ? I didn?t realise the two were linked. Also The Body Shop has been at the forefront of human rights campaigns throughout the nineties. Their support seems to have died off recently however.

»We believe that a business has the responsibility to protect the environment in which it operates, locally and globally ? The Body Shop has taken shares in wind farms to support them and run campaigns against nuclear energy. The Body Shop?s regional offices and 100 of the UK/ROI stores run on renewable energy. All The Body Shop?s packaging can be returned to the store for recycling.

So do we believe all these claims? It?s up to you whether you think there are more sinister undercurrents, but much of The Body Shop?s work is plain to see. Personally, I think The Body Shop does what it can to help, and this is more than other multi-national chocolate bar making, milk distributing companies I could mention. The Body Shop delivers high quality products for middle of the road, good value prices, and the shops smell really nice. They?ve got my support.

Summary: