The Body Shop: Social Responsibility or Sustained Greenwashing?

On the other hand, L'Oreal was viewed by activists as the face of modern consumerism - a company that tested its cosmetics on animals, exploited the sexuality of women, and sold their products by making women feel insecure. Moreover, Nestlé owned 26 percent of L'Oreal. Nestle was one of the most boycotted companies in the world for its alleged unethical business practices and aggressive promotion of baby milk in developing countries.

Body Shop's critics said that they felt betrayed by the deal as Roddick had previously been quite vocal in her criticism of companies like L'Oreal. They called for a boycott of Body Shop's products as they felt that the company had sold out its values and principles.

Many analysts were concerned that Body Shop's image would be affected by the acquisition. Some activists felt that Body Shop would not be able to function independently and that an important partner in CSR had been lost. However, they were a few who felt that Body Shop's values would rub in on L'Oreal and believed that the deal had some positives.

There were also questions raised about whether L'Oreal was trying to improve its image and buy CSR through this deal. But for Body Shop's staunchest critics, the acquisition by L'Oreal was vindication of their view that Body Shop was nothing more than a greenwasher.