The Body Shop will be fully vegan by 2023. Founded in 1976 by British businesswoman and environmental activist Dame Anita Roddick.
The retailer has been working for the last year with The Vegan Society to remove all remaining animal ingredients from its formulations. At this moment, 60 percent of The Body Shop’s offerings are labeled as “vegan,” including its iconic perfume White Musk—which does not include the deer gland secretions sometimes found in non-vegan musk scents.
“Our decision to go 100-percent vegan is a natural next step for The Body Shop, Thanks to our founder Anita Roddick, we were the first beauty company to fight against animal testing in cosmetics, and the first major global beauty brand to use cruelty-free musk in our fragrances.”
Lionel Thoreau, Global Brand Director at The Body Shop
The Body Shop has been working for the last two decades with Cruelty-Free International to advocate for the end of animal testing. However, from 2006 to 2017, the brand was owned by L’Oreal, who conduct tests of cosmetics on animals. Now owned by ethical Brazilian brand Natura &Co, The Body Shop is reconnecting with its activist roots by going vegan and committing to sustainability initiatives such as installing refill stations and expanding recycling programs to additional stores.
The Body Shop’s largest competitor is vegetarian brand LUSH Cosmetics, which is known for its colorful bath bombs, calming lotions, and sustainability minded practices. While LUSH has always been cruelty-free, the brand still uses animal ingredients such as honey in some of its formulations. In recent years, LUSH has released fully vegan lines.
The Body Shop and LUSH were between the first companies advocating for the end of animal testing for decades before others are starting to join in.
As global campaigns such as Humane Society International’s #BeCrueltyFree (aiming to end animal testing by 2023) have gained momentum, brands that previously tested on animals have chosen to stop to appeal to customers looking for cruelty-free options.
