100 Entrepreneurs Who Changed The World
68. Anita Roddick (1942-2007)
“If you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito.”
Anita Roddick was a British businesswoman, human rights activist, and environmentalist, famous for her cosmetic line The Body Shop. Roddick sought to bring environmentally conscious business into the cosmetics industry, where chemicals and animal testing were the norm. She started The Body Shop in 1976 with just 15 products which she had sourced from around the world. At first she faced a tough challenge: UK shoppers weren’t environmentally conscious enough to want to pay extra money for “greener” products. That soon changed, however, proving Roddick was a bit ahead of her times. By the 1980’s a trend towards “greener,” animal friendly cosmetics propelled The Body Shop to wild success. In the 1990’s Roddick sold The Body Shop to L’Oreal, in a controversial yet lucrative move.
