MBS Inspiration
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The MBS Group
is one of the world’s leading executive search firms operating exclusively in Retail, Consumer and relevant technologies, and the most successful sector-specialist firm in the UK
The legacy lives on
Who said that when big companies buy niche brands they usually destroy them? There are actually some very good examples of global companies that have managed to retain the spirit, integrity and authenticity of the niche brand they acquire. Just look at Ben & Jerry’s. From a consumer’s perspective, it’s hard to believe that it is not still being run from a renovated gas station in Vermont, instead of from Unilever HQ! As I have mentioned before, Unilever has also managed to take the brand’s corporate sustainability to another level – testimony to a great heritage. Which brings me onto The Body Shop.
L’Oreal acquired The Body Shop while the founder, Dame Anita Roddick, was still alive. Anita – visionary, iconoclast and social campaigner – fought tirelessly for countless causes. Unsurprisingly, many people thought that the ethos of the brand would change once it was integrated into L’Oreal. But, in the spirit of Anita, Sophie Gasperment, CEO of The Body Shop, is carrying on her legacy, and the company has just launched an unflinching global campaign to stop sex trafficking of children and young people all over the world.
While it’s not something that we might like to think about, according to the United Nations, it is the third-largest and fastest-growing criminal industry in the world, with more than 1.2 million children and young people trafficked every year. Working alongside ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes), the campaign aims to raise awareness and provide vital funds for victims or those at risk of trafficking. The Body Shop has launched Soft Hands Kind Heart Hand Cream, with proceeds from each product sold being donated to ECPAT and other organisations that support victims of trafficking. Soft Hands Kind Heart Hand Cream has already raised a staggering £1m for charity.
The Body Shop has also just launched a petition calling upon governments to implement strict anti-trafficking policies and legislation, and dedicate more resources to help victims of trafficking. A global campaign whose objective is to join hands with thousands of other signatories around the world, Sophie will be taking the signed petitions to the United Nations in 2011. The Body Shop asks that you please tell your friends and family about its campaign and that you help them to spread the word about the horrors of this global sex trade. Please go to your nearest Body Shop store and fill in the form or sign the online petition.
Finally, thank you to everyone who has offered help to Jamie for his foundation. All of them will be delivered to him in the next few weeks as his own campaign gets underway. Have a good week-end moira@thembsgroup.co.uk
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