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See also sections of this website entitled:

NEW (recent additions to this section; top item is most recent addition)
Ethical Supply Chain Management - the story so far - Some of the standards focus on core labour and human rights issues (e.g. Ethical Trading Initiative or SA8000), while others are beginning to tackle wider issues such as terms of trading and criteria for smallholders...Companies are beginning to “green” their supply chain by working on environmental initiatives with their suppliers. [refers to McDonald’s, Cosmair (a subsidiary of L'Oreal), Ford]. (Julian Roche, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 6 Mar. 2003)

{···français} Une société de cosmétiques [Biophase] condamnée pour discrimination [France] - Six mois de prison avec sursis pour avoir "trié" personnel et clientèle -..."Les clientes arabes et africaines étaient refusées."..."C'est une sanction historique", a commenté son [l'association SOS-Racisme] vice-président, Samuel Thomas. "Les plus lourdes peines prononcées étaient de trois mois de prison avec sursis. Ce jugement est un encouragement pour tous les salariés qui dénoncent les ordres et agissements discriminatoires provenant de leur direction." (Jean-Pierre Tenoux, Le Monde, 8 février 2003)

Statements by business people about human rights and business:

Anita Roddick, Founder and Co-Chairman, The Body Shop International (United Kingdom)

Websites:

Choose Positive Energy campaign [joint campaign by Greenpeace & The Body Shop]: Greenpeace and The Body Shop have joined forces to challenge world governments to provide access to renewable energy for all - in particular the two billion people who live without any power, within ten years

German Slave Labor website (Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll law firm)

Other materials:

2003:

Ethical Supply Chain Management - the story so far - Some of the standards focus on core labour and human rights issues (e.g. Ethical Trading Initiative or SA8000), while others are beginning to tackle wider issues such as terms of trading and criteria for smallholders...Companies are beginning to “green” their supply chain by working on environmental initiatives with their suppliers. [refers to McDonald’s, Cosmair (a subsidiary of L'Oreal), Ford]. (Julian Roche, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 6 Mar. 2003)

{···français} Une société de cosmétiques [Biophase] condamnée pour discrimination [France] - Six mois de prison avec sursis pour avoir "trié" personnel et clientèle -..."Les clientes arabes et africaines étaient refusées."..."C'est une sanction historique", a commenté son [l'association SOS-Racisme] vice-président, Samuel Thomas. "Les plus lourdes peines prononcées étaient de trois mois de prison avec sursis. Ce jugement est un encouragement pour tous les salariés qui dénoncent les ordres et agissements discriminatoires provenant de leur direction." (Jean-Pierre Tenoux, Le Monde, 8 février 2003)

2002:

US study links chemical to sperm damage - Everyday exposure to a chemical ingredient [phthalates] used to preserve many cosmetics and fragrances may contribute to sperm damage in adult men, according to a study published. (Laura MacInnis, Reuters, 11 Dec. 2002)

What can corporate responsibility do in the fight against poverty in Africa? Maya Forstater looks at what business can be realistically expected to contribute to African development and outlines some specific examples of corporate engagement to date...DaimlerChrysler: making cars out of Sisal [South Africa, Brazil]...Divine Chocolate: Bringing farmers to market [Day Chocolate Company; The Body Shop; Ghana]...The Woodlands 2000 Trust [tree farming in Kenya]...South African Breweries...Coca-Cola: measuring the business contribution to economic development [Morocco, South Africa]...Supporting SME development: Richards Bay Minerals [South Africa] (Maya Forstater, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 11 Nov. 2002)

PluggedIn - Recycling phones to charities, not landfills [refers to Sprint PCS, Cingular Wireless, Verizon Communications, AT&T Wireless, Working Assets, NPI wireless, Radio Shack, The Body Shop] (Elinor Mills Abreu, Reuters, 23 Oct. 2002)

'Heart and Soul' dramatizes HIV/AIDS and other issues for millions in Africa - The intertwined lives of two African families, one well-off and the other poorer, is the setting of "Heart and Soul," a prime-time television and radio soap opera that is bringing issues such as HIV/AIDS, poverty, human rights and development to a potential audience of 50 million to 75 million....Beiersdorf - Nivea (East Africa), the Coca Cola Africa Foundation and Western Union are private sector sponsors. (U.N. Development Programme, 3 Oct. 2002)

Experts mull global pact to cut mercury use - Scientists from around the globe began a week-long conference yesterday aimed at shaping a programme to cut back the use of mercury - a toxic substance which poisons and cripples hundreds of people annually...Widely used for decades in lamps, batteries and electrical equipment because it is an excellent conductor of heat, as well as in thermometers and dental fillings, it can cause permanent damage to the brain, nervous system and kidneys. UNEP says it has also been used in some pesticides and pharmaceuticals, as well as in some skin-lightening creams. (Reuters, 10 Sep. 2002)

Household chemicals warning - Many chemicals found routinely in products around the home could be damaging our health...Artificial musks - used as fragrances in perfumes, cosmetics and household goods....Phthalates - plastic softeners used in many PVC products, such as children's toys, and in some cosmetics...Bisphenol A - a component of resins used to line food cans...Organotins - heat stabilisers used in approximately 8% of PVC products in Europe. Traces have also been found in some brands of disposable nappies...The makers of Glade air fresheners, and Dove and Physiosport shower gels contained artificial musks...Avon, Olay and Max Factor nail varnishes contained phthalates, while several other manufacturers said they were in the process of "phasing them out", including Boots, L'Oreal, Lancome and Maybelline...Heinz, John West and Princes use Bisphenol A to make food and drink cans, and it is an ingredient of most baby feeding bottles in the UK, including those made by Boots, Mothercare, Tommee Tippee and Avent. (BBC News, 1 Aug. 2002)

Hairdressing salon chemical alert - Hairdressers are more likely to give birth to babies with major physical defects, a study suggests...The scientists suggest that the chemicals used to style hair, including colours and hairspray, could be responsible. (BBC News, 31 July 2002)

Cosmetics full of suspect chemicals, group says - Cosmetics ranging from perfume to hair gel contain chemicals shown to cause birth defects in animals, a group that lobbies on health issues said. (Maggie Fox, Reuters, 12 July 2002)

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: Venezuela Pushes Heritage Plan At WIPO - Venezuela has brought before the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva a program aimed at preserving the knowledge and heritage of its indigenous people through photographs, video, audio and text and ensuring indigenous groups benefit from the use of the information, El Universal reported yesterday...Proponents say countries and businesses -- mainly cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies -- seek insight from ethnic communities on plants, biodiversity and other traditions but do not compensate them. (UN Wire, 9 July 2002)

Making Fair Trade Work in Mexico - In Mexico, a growing number of coops, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), microenterprises, and campesino groups are proving that fair trade offers a viable alternative to communities struggling to cope with globalization [refers to initiatives relating to agriculture, food, cosmetics, coffee, ecotourism, chocolate, retail; also refers to indigenous groups] (Talli Nauman, Americas Program, Interhemispheric Resource Center, July 2002)

High street shops under attack for their ethics [UK] - High street shops have scored poorly in a survey rating businesses on their support for ethical trading practices. The survey...awarded marks to businesses according to their stance on issues such as child labour, poverty wages and poor working conditions. The Co-op, Body Shop and DIY chain B&Q all scored highly. But the survey said most high street shops either had no code of conduct to cover unfair trading issues, refused to publish one or declined to allow their codes to be independently checked. (Henrykl Zientek, Huddersfield Daily Examiner [UK], 20 June 2002)

UN conference backs indigenous peoples drug payout: A global environmental conference last week hammered out guidelines to encourage big business to pay indigenous communities for the right to use native plants to make commercial drugs and cosmetics. (Otti Thomas, Reuters, 22 Apr. 2002)

Tackling risky chemicals on the high street [UK]: Ikea, the Body Shop, Co-op, Marks & Spencer and B&Q are top of the table when it comes to tackling risky chemicals in their products [worst scores: Hamleys, Focus, BHS, Somerfield; companies that did not reply: ASDA, Kwick Save, Morrisons, Toys 'R' Us, Toymaster] (Friends of the Earth, 26 Feb. 2002)

Being seen to be green helps corporate image: An FT survey that gave companies plaudits for their environmental record included some surprise choices [includes reference to Body Shop, BP, Royal Dutch/Shell, Toyota, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Vivendi, Honda, Ford, Siemens, GE, IBM, Volkswagen, ExxonMobil, Ben & Jerry's, McDonalds] (Michael Skapinker, Financial Times, 1 Feb. 2002)

Pioneering Conservation And Tourism Project Wins Innovative Private Sector Backing: New funding helps kick-start International Year of Ecotourism - The goal of developing sustainable tourism in some of the world's most beautiful, yet fragile natural environments received a major boost today...Aveda, the global cosmetics company, has agreed to give US $500,000 to the project that is jointly managed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), ...UNESCO and RARE Center for Tropical Conservation. (U.N. Environment Programme, 24 Jan. 2002) 

Governments challenged to back green energy: Former Shell boss, Sir Mark Moody Stuart today challenged Western Governments to increase their renewable energy targets, at the launch of The Body Shop and Greenpeace International campaign, Choose Positive Energy. (Body Shop & Greenpeace, Choose Positive Energy campaign, 18 Jan. 2002)

Government exporting global warming, say campaigners [UK]: Environmental campaigners today accused the government of 'exporting global warming' after it was revealed that the UK has put up billions of pounds to fund fossil fuel projects in the developing world...The new research was released this morning at a briefing by Greenpeace and the Body Shop to promote the 'Choose Positive Energy' campaign which is running in 27 countries and designed to bring renewable energy to the two billion people without access to electricity. (Greenpeace & Body Shop, 18 Jan. 2002)

Natural beauty - Dominique Conseil describes how his company [Aveda] has set out to provide a business model for environmental sustainability (Dominique Conseil, President of Aveda, in Our Planet, published by U.N. Environment Programme, 2002)

2001:

New WRM [World Rainforest Movement] book on the impacts of oil palm plantations: Soap, lipsticks, chocolate or perfumes are difficult to perceive as products associated to deforestation and human rights abuses in the tropics. However, this can easily be the case when one of their components is palm oil, though few people outside the plantation areas are aware about this. The first aim of this book is thus to highlight the impacts associated with large-scale oil palm plantations by providing a general overview of the problem and a broad range of country-level situations, ranging from articles to detailed case studies in Africa, Asia and Latin America. (WRM Bulletin, World Rainforest Movement, Sep. 2001)

Body Shop has lost its soul - founder Roddick: Body Shop founder Anita Roddick said last week the ethical cosmetics chain has lost its way since being floated on the stock market and has no place as a mere cog in the international financial system she despises....A tireless environmental campaigner...Roddick, now in her 50s, has said she is getting ever more radical as she gets older and wants to take the fight for her causes straight to the boardroom. "The protests are going nowhere. We should be directly pointing the finger at businesses, not even bothering with the governments," she said. "You've got to direct it at the companies," she added. "The only thing they really fear is consumer revolt." (Ed Cropley, Reuters, 27 Aug. 2001)  

Esso dismisses allegations by Green campaign: Esso has dismissed a boycott campaign against it by Green campaigners including Body Shop founder Anita Roddick as "ridiculous". (Stephanie Holmes, Reuters, 22 Aug. 2001)

Esso says concerned over Body Shop's UK boycott move: Esso yesterday expressed dismay over the Body Shop's decision to back a UK boycott of Esso garages in protest at its parent company's stance on global warming and its past record on renewable energy spending (Stefano Ambrogi, Reuters, 5 July 2001) 

Body Shop joins UK Esso boycott over Kyoto stance: The Body Shop said yesterday it will become the first company to publicly back a UK boycott of Esso service stations in protest at its parent company's support for the U.S. withdrawal from the Kyoto climate change pact. (Reuters, 4 July 2001) 

Greenpeace and The Body Shop launch challenge to bring clean energy to two billion worldwide: Leading environmental organisation Greenpeace has joined forces with international high street retailer, The Body Shop, today, to challenge world governments to provide access to renewable energy for all, in particular the two billion people who live without any power, within ten years. (Greenpeace, 28 June 2001)

2000:

The Body Shop's Anita Roddick on ethical business (CNN.com chat transcript, 18 Sep. 2000)

Body Shop International takes stand on human rights issues (Clare Sain-Ley-Berry, Earth Times News Service, 26 Aug. 2000)

The business response to HIV/AIDS: impact and lessons learned [Section 5, "Profiles of business activities in response to HIV/AIDS", includes profiles of American International Assurance, Thailand; The Body Shop, Japan; Warsaw Marriott Hotel; Larsen & Toubro, India; Volkswagen do Brasil; Molson Breweries, Canada; Chevron Nigeria; Standard Chartered Bank, UK; International Hotel & Restaurant Association; Anglo Coal, South Africa; Eskom, South Africa; ALMS, Czech Republic; Teddy Exports, India; Bristol Myers Squibb, USA; The Shell Company of Thailand] (Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum in collaboration with UNAIDS and Global Business Council on HIV/AIDS, 2000)

Council on Economic Priorities Names the Industry Leaders for the Year 2000 [Campaign for Cleaner Corporations] (Council on Economic Priorities, 2000)

1999:

relevant sections of Business and Human Rights in a Time of Change (Christopher Avery, Nov. 1999):

Canny companies come clean: Firms are finding that it pays to tell the truth about their social and environmental impact (Terry Slavin, Observer [U.K.], 27 June 1999)

The New Corporate Challenge: Globalization requires companies to do more than seek higher profits (Sir Geoffrey Chandler, Chair of Amnesty International UK Business Group, Time, 1 Feb. 1999)

1998:

Body Shop 1998 international campaign with Amnesty International on behalf of human rights defenders