When Anita Roddick founded The Body Shop she believed passionately that beauty is an active, outward expression of everything you like about yourself. She understood the importance of self-esteem. In 1997, she launched a selfesteem and body positivity campaign featuring a generously proportioned doll, Ruby, with the slogan: There are 3 billion women who don’t look like supermodels and only 8 who do.
The Body Shop was the first beauty company to talk about self-esteem and importantly, the link between personal wellbeing and collective wellbeing. Fast forward to today. The body positivity movement has gained much traction. Yet we live in a troubled and turbulent world, where inequalities continue to widen. The Body Shop believes the next frontier in creating positive impact in the world is increasing self-love.Linda Campbell, Managing Director UK & Ireland said:
“As an activist brand, our mission is to fight for a fairer and more beautiful world. In order to create a positive change in the world, we must start with creating a positive change within. In a society that promotes self-doubt and insecurity, we call for people to rise up with self-love. We are excited to embark on this journey to drive change individually, in the beauty industry and beyond.”
Sara Kuburic, The Body Shop self-love expert and The Millenial Therapist said:
“Self-love is many things, but it starts with the recognition and appreciation of our inner worth and value. It gives us permission to be our authentic selves. Self-love is the act of using our voice and standing up for what we believe in. It is the act of creating change and of surrounding ourselves with people who support our journey.”
The Body Shop aims to inspire 1 million acts of self-love in 1 year, to create more love and positive change in the world. It doesn’t matter how big or small, every act can lead to big change. Tips on acts of self-love will be shared on the online self-love hub and The Body Shop social media channels; @TheBodyShopUK. To raise awareness of self-love, the company is working with ‘Leading Lights’ – changemakers and cultural ambassadors that are beacons of self-love and help inspire others on their journey.
