End of an era: Our 34 year journey with The Body Shop

5 mins read time

With the closure of The Body Shop at Home and major changes to the global business, we want to take this opportunity to thank and honour those we have journeyed with since 1990.

Over three decades, the partnership modelled Dame Anita Roddick’s belief in “business as a force for good” and continued her legacy after she co-founded the charity with our CEO Rachel Bentley in 1990, who began working with The Body Shop the year before.

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​“Business shapes the world. It is capable of changing society in almost any way you can imagine”
Dame Anita Roddick

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From retail stores, UK and global markets, to franchisees, head office teams and The Body Shop at Home, thousands of people collaborated to bring change across the globe in their support of Children on the Edge. This support was sparked in the early days, as we responded to the Romanian orphanage crisis, and continued for 34 years to the present day, supporting over 20,000 children across 3 continents.

You’ve helped to create ground-breaking national laws, mostly recently in Uganda helping to criminalise the practice of child sacrifice. 

You’ve enabled rapid response in the most pressing humanitarian crises, from our response in Indonesia following the 2004 tsunami to sending hundreds of thousands of hygiene products to Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war in 2022. 

Each year your support faithfully worked to help some of the world's most marginalised children in the toughest situations to safely live, play, learn and grow. ​

Working with The Body Shop at Home since 1994, we have had our very own ‘special relationship’.  This incredible business, including more than 100,000 consultants, has raised £3.6 million to help children living on the edge to learn, play, grow and thrive. 

Every element of the Body Shop at Home’s business has helped to change the communities that Children on the Edge supports. Direct sales leaders supported Children on the Edge through their team’s events and training days, while inspirational bi-annual conferences raised money from raffles and product sales.

Over the years, many leaders, teams and consultants from The Body Shop have visited our programmes, pitching in with practical help where it was needed and running summer playschemes in Romania, Moldova, Indonesia and Uganda. These were opportunities to see first-hand together, how the transformation we worked to support had become reality.

Fantastic fundraisers

​Every hemp hand cream you sold, every party game you played, every raffle ticket you bought, every Big October Cake Bake you baked, helped to make a huge difference. We loved supporting every single challenge; your walks, treks to Cambodia, mountain climbs, cycles, often achieved alongside your tribe of partners, friends and children brought along for the glorious ride!  In 2020, whilst the world was in lockdown, The Body Shop at Home consultants didn’t stop. Instead you raised over £1 million during the first 12 months of the pandemic.

It has been wonderful to meet so many of you at conferences through the years. Whether you were in the room or watching online, we have loved the countless opportunities to connect with you all. 

Lighting a spark

We are deeply thankful for each of you who have breathed life into this partnership year on year, and passionately supported Children on the Edge. 

As this chapter closes, the next part of the journey for Children on the Edge begins, and It goes without saying that you remain warmly welcome as a vital part of our community of supporters. As many of you have always said, “once an Ambassador, always an Ambassador….” 

We’ve been bowled over by your messages of support since we heard the news. To mark this moment,  we would love you to share all your great memories, reflections and photos with us and join us for the next chapter of Children on the Edge.
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