UK Should I boycott the Bodyshop?

I've got a friend that works for the BodyShop, and according to her they are still vehemently anti-animal testing, and are big on fair-value labor from other countires.

Oh I know that, but their profits will benefit L'oreal won't they? I don't know whether to shop there any more, because I support what they stand for, but not their ultimate owner.

Some tesco and sainsbury's toiletries, and apparently also all somerfield own brand products are not tested on animals, they say so on the back if they're not tested on animals. As far as I can tell this is ok, is there anything about these companies and their professed non-testing that I ought to know?

I dont use TBS or Loreal I use Lush..
All Lush products are Hand made,against animal testing and are really good for your skin.
If you have anymore questions about the products you can ask me xx

The main animal tester in the Uk is procter and gamble. They own so many products that it is hard to avoid buying something from them, even if it hasn't been tested on animals! I use L'oreal garnier. Thanks for letting me know it was tested on animals now I can stop using it! In my opinion you can't boycott every shop that may have products which are tested on animals. Tesco, Asda's, probably every single shop will have some brands that are tested on animals.

It's a tricky one! I think boots own brands (no. 17 etc) are all OK - but then they do sell other stuff too - which will be tested on animals, with Boots taking a cut of the cash. Same for the big supermarkets.
Lush are your best bet - but I think you know that already.
Superdrug own brand are anti-testing too. Like you said, I think it's best to check ALL packaging - if it doesn't say it doesn't test, then it probably does!
Hope somebody else has more detailed info...

Thanks everyone. The more I read up on animal testing, the more products I find that are bad. It is almost impossible to avoid companies like Procter and Gamble, Johnson and Johnson, SC Johnson, Colgate Palmolive, Lever Faberge, GlaxoSmithKline, Unilever etc. full list on (broken link removed) These giants dominate the marketplace. They make so much. Unilever makes so many things, from mayonnaise using battery hen eggs to 'Dove' products. Ariel washing powder is made by Procter and Gamble. You'd be amazed at how many everyday brand products are produced by tehse big companies now. I am. I'm going to have to buy from teh Body Shop I think, as it sends the massage that I am against animal testing better than Boots brands. I wish there was a Lush near me. I'm going to work on finding alternatives to the animal-tested products I buy though, wish me luck.

You can buy lush products online at www.lush.co.uk.

Pringles are owned my P&G.. I love pringles! :weepy:

This sucks. I love the Body Shop becuase I'm not allergic to whatever they use to make their bar soapand hand creme. I'm horribly allergic to most other soaps. And not just a little bit. I break out if my husband uses soap I'm allergic to!

Has anyone with really super sensitive skin used this stuff and not gotten a rash? It can say hypoallergenic and "safe" all they want and I could still be allergic to it. I'd like to hear from other people before I take the plunge and by something that is a bit more expensive that I may not even be able to use in my home. It's not like I can give away used soap. :yuck:

Luckily I stocked up on Body Shop soap a while back when strawberry was out again. I have like 10 bars, a large jar of body butter and half a bottle of vanilla oil left.

Good point Daft.
Um, as to the soap thing, have you ever tried soap-free liquid soap? I don't know anything about it or soap allergies, but I'm sure I've seen soap-free handwash. Whether they're not tested on animals I can't say.

How can they test crisps on animals? What could possibly go in them that could be dangerous? If anything was even questionable for human health, why is it included in test recipes anyway? The only dangerous thing I can think of about a pringles crisp is if it had spice on it and you got some in your eye, and that's your fault, not the company's, so you shouldn't be able to sue.

I doubt they test pringles on animals, I was just saying that P&G make them. Boycotting them means boycotting pringles! And just about every product on the market.

I love the body shop. I never even knew for some reason I always thought they were agaisnt animals testing.

You mean like hand sanitizer Muffin? That stuff that kills germs but doesn't have soap. That's great for my hands and on the go, but the rest of me is allergic too and washing in hand sanitizer is not only expensive but I'd rather not smell like rubbing alcohol.

I have a feeling that with this buy out not only will the Body Shop lose it's animal friendly status but that they will cheap out on the ingredients and they will make my allergies flare up anyway.

I think I'll just change over to Lush and hope for the best. Though I'm still really open to suggestions from those with similar problems. Any suggestions on what to try for my poor sensitive skin?

I have eczema, and therefore very sensitive skin. Like you Sabriel, I can use most of the body shop products, but for 'soap', I use Lush every time. I'm afraid it is a bit of trial and error to see what your skin will/wont react to - but a lot of their stuff is very gentle. Not only is it only tested on humans, it contains mostly natural ingredients and many products are vegan. The assistants are usually friendly enough if you have a shop near you - I think they would probably give you a wee sample of a bar or two, to see how your skin reacts before splashing out. They sell stuff in different sizes too. I use their deoderants too - the solid bar kind ( or rock crystal from health food shops.) Isn't most health food shop stuff anti - animal testing too? (Lush sprung out of Beauty Without Cruelty which were cosmetics sold in health food shops.)

Proctor and Gamble and the other nasty giants do get into everything.

Muffin, there are two Lush shops in Edinburgh! One at the East end of Princes Street, the other in the Ocean Terminal in Leith!

I'll just have to try and see what happens. If it only gives me a little reaction maybe my husband can use it. Or we'll just keep it at the sink for guests. Not that we get many.

Or I'll just have them cut the bar in half and if it doesn't work out I can at least give half of it away.

Human testing is cool and all but unless they have somebody with the same allergies as me then it really does no good. If someone like my husband tested it the data would not be useful for me.

Now if only I could find some cruelty free band-aids that don't make me break out. Do they even have cruelty free band-aids?

If you guys have any questions about Lush products like how they are used,what ingredients are in them etc before you buy you can ask me,as im pretty much a lush geek and have tried nearly every product xx

As for a replacement for Garnier products, Citre Shine is nice and not tested on animals. Also tends to be on sale a lot around here too.

I can't do it. It is impossable to boycott the body shop with all there fruity fragrency stuff smelling me. I went in and spent £20 on stuff . But I did order off that site Lush.co.uk so can I radeem myself?

bromers said:

I can't do it. It is impossable to boycott the body shop with all there fruity fragrency stuff smelling me. I went in and spent £20 on stuff . But I did order off that site Lush.co.uk so can I radeem myself?

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yeah you can! what did you get off the Lush site?x