"Over the past decade... while many businesses have pursued what I call 'business as usual,' I have been part of a different, smaller business movement, one that tried to put idealism back on the agenda"
About this Quote
Anita Roddick draws a sharp line between the mainstream profit-first model and a scrappier insurgency that treats commerce as a vehicle for moral purpose. The phrase business as usual points to habits that had come to define late 20th-century capitalism: short-term gains, cost-cutting that ignored human and environmental costs, and a narrow focus on shareholder returns. By naming a smaller business movement, she signals both its marginal status at the time and its stubborn energy. It was not the norm, but it was real, growing, and determined to prove that idealism could be operational, not sentimental.
Roddick had already built the case through The Body Shop, which wove ethics into every facet of the enterprise: cruelty-free sourcing, community trade with cooperatives, environmental campaigns, and a brand voice that treated customers as citizens. Idealism, in her view, was not a soft add-on; it was strategy. It differentiated a company in crowded markets, created trust that advertising dollars could not buy, and inspired employees to become advocates. She wanted idealism on the agenda in both senses: the literal agenda of board meetings and the broader cultural agenda that shapes what business is for.
The timing matters. In the Thatcher-Reagan era, when deregulation and market fundamentalism reigned, she argued that business could be activist without ceasing to be business. That stance anticipated later debates about corporate social responsibility, the triple bottom line, and B Corps. But it also warned against mere optics. Idealism meant embedded practices and accountability, not glossy reports or cause marketing.
There is an implicit invitation here: measure success by the lives touched, the ecosystems preserved, and the dignity upheld, alongside profit. Roddick frames commerce as an ethical craft, one that can change supply chains, challenge laws, and mobilize customers. The movement was smaller then because it required courage. It grows when leaders treat idealism not as a risk but as the point.
Roddick had already built the case through The Body Shop, which wove ethics into every facet of the enterprise: cruelty-free sourcing, community trade with cooperatives, environmental campaigns, and a brand voice that treated customers as citizens. Idealism, in her view, was not a soft add-on; it was strategy. It differentiated a company in crowded markets, created trust that advertising dollars could not buy, and inspired employees to become advocates. She wanted idealism on the agenda in both senses: the literal agenda of board meetings and the broader cultural agenda that shapes what business is for.
The timing matters. In the Thatcher-Reagan era, when deregulation and market fundamentalism reigned, she argued that business could be activist without ceasing to be business. That stance anticipated later debates about corporate social responsibility, the triple bottom line, and B Corps. But it also warned against mere optics. Idealism meant embedded practices and accountability, not glossy reports or cause marketing.
There is an implicit invitation here: measure success by the lives touched, the ecosystems preserved, and the dignity upheld, alongside profit. Roddick frames commerce as an ethical craft, one that can change supply chains, challenge laws, and mobilize customers. The movement was smaller then because it required courage. It grows when leaders treat idealism not as a risk but as the point.
Quote Details
| Topic | Business |
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