Anita Roddick

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Anita Roddick bigraphy, stories - Business woman, founder of The Body Shop

Anita Roddick : biography

October 23, 1942 – September 10, 2007

Dame Anita Roddick, DBE (23 October 1942 – 10 September 2007) was a British businesswoman, human rights activist and environmental campaigner, best known as the founder of The Body Shop, a cosmetics company producing and retailing beauty products that shaped ethical consumerism. The company was one of the first to prohibit the use of ingredients tested on animals and one of the first to promote fair trade with third world countries.

Roddick was involved in activism and campaigning for environmental and social issues, including involvement with Greenpeace and The Big Issue. In 1990, Roddick founded Children On The Edge, a charitable organisation which helps disadvantaged children in eastern Europe and Asia.

In 2003, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Roddick a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

In 2004, Roddick was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis due to long-standing hepatitis C. After she revealed this to the media in February 2007, she promoted the work of the Hepatitis C Trust, and campaigned to increase awareness of the disease.

Death and estate

Roddick died of acute brain hemorrhage at about 6:30 p.m. on 10 September 2007, after being admitted to St Richard’s Hospital, Chichester the previous evening suffering from a severe headache. She fulfilled her promise to leave her estate to charities, on moral grounds.

Illness

On 14 February 2007, Roddick revealed she had been diagnosed with hepatitis C. Roddick said, "I have hepatitis C. It’s a bit of a bummer, but you groan and move on". On 30 August 2007, less than two weeks before her death, Roddick was a special guest in an episode of the live television programme Doctor, Doctor broadcast on Channel 5 in the UK, in which she talked about hepatitis C with the presenter and general practitioner, Mark Porter.Doctor, Doctor. Five TV.

On live television, Roddick explained that her hepatitis C was unexpectedly diagnosed in 2004, following a blood test that was part of a medical examination needed for a life insurance policy; the blood test indicated abnormal liver function and subsequent blood tests diagnosed hepatitis C. Roddick explained that she had a large blood transfusion in 1971, after the birth of her younger daughter, and that she was convinced that the transfusion had infected her with hepatitis C. This was about 20 years before blood donors were screened for hepatitis C in the United Kingdom. She reported that she had developed cirrhosis of the liver, and that her main symptoms were itching and poor concentration. She briefly mentioned that medical treatment with interferon did not suit her. Roddick explained that she kept fit and active, and that she attended biannual out-patient hospital appointments in Southampton, as well as being under review by the liver transplant team at the Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.

Link with Littlehampton Community School

Roddick was a close friend of Littlehampton Community School. In 2003, it successfully applied to become a Business and Enterprise specialist school. Much of the money required was donated by Roddick. As a result of this donation, a new building that was built with this money was named ‘The Roddick Enterprise Centre’ (normally abbreviated to ‘REC’). The Littlehampton College also hosts ‘Roddick Days’ such as ‘Day of Action’ and ‘One World’; these events allow students to give something back to their local community and learn about what is happening around them.

The school is currently planning the building of an academy. Following the death of Roddick, it has been widely suggested that any future academy should be given her name in memory of the local entrepreneur.

The Body Shop

Roddick opened the first Body Shop with the aim of making an income for herself and her two daughters while her husband was away in South America, with the idea of providing quality skin care products in refillable containers and sample sizes, all marketed with truth rather than hype.Anita Roddick, Body and Soul, 1991. She opened her second shop six months later. On her husband’s return, he joined the business. By 1991, the Body Shop had 700 branches, and Roddick was awarded the 1991 World Vision Award for Development Initiative. In 1993 she told Third Way Magazine: