The Body Shop has won the 2008 RSPCA Good Business Award for the category of large cosmetics company, its second award in the category, which was presented by SPC editor Clare Henderson at a ceremony at London’s Natural History Museum last night; SPC sponsored this year's cosmetic awards. Other companies who collected cosmetics awards included male grooming brand Bulldog and high street giant Marks & Spencer, who took the accolades for best small business and ongoing commitment to change, respectively.
David Bowles, head of external affairs at the RSPCA, commented: “Testing cosmetics on animals has become an increasingly prominent issue, especially in the light of the EU Cosmetics Directive (76/768/EEC), whereby the testing of ingredients on animals will be phased out by 2009. With this in mind it is truly gratifying to see the steps our winners are taking to ensure that animals don’t suffer in the name of beauty.”
The Body Shop was chosen as the overall winner for its sustained commitment to animal welfare, which includes funding a policy officer in the EU to work on REACH issues, while new entrant Bulldog was praised for its website’s product safety section, and its strict policies regarding ingredients from animal sources and animal testing.
Marks & Spencer, meanwhile, was rewarded for its ongoing commitment to animal welfare, having pledged to replace animal testing with cruelty-free alternatives for all of its 1,100 products.
Judging the cosmetics category were writer and wellbeing expert Jo Fairley, and chemist Gerard Duvé MSc. “It is extremely heartening to see the passion and commitment that comes through from these cosmetics companies, regardless of their size, to delivering high standards of animal welfare,” Fairley said of the winners.
The 2008 ceremony saw the presentation of an across-category Lifetime Achievement Award, the first in the awards’ four-year history, which was won by supermarket chain The Co-operative. Attendees were also treated to entertainment in the form of dazzling footwork from Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova, stars of hit BBC show Strictly Come Dancing.