Great Products! It actually didn't say on their website that there absolutely was not any animal ingredients in their products, so I contacted Corporate Headquarters and was told that they absolutely do not use animal anything in their products. They are also against animal testing and do not use products from other companies that test on animals! I love this store! The current Cranberries line and new Moon Flower line is out of this world!

Plus, they just dramatically expanded their makeup line.

They have a very, very cool website.

http://www.thebodyshop.com/web/tbsgl/index.jsp

ever tried their body butter? amazing! the mango, coffee and nut flavors are pretty freakin' kick ass.

I love all of the body butter.. specially the nut one. I love the way my feet feel when I rub 'em down at night and put my socks back on. They are oh so soft in the morning.

I'm a bath stuff-smell goods-junkie! If I decided to give up my addiction to lotions, powders, perfumes, etc. etc. I could have a two day yard sale and still not run out of merchandise :D

I can't find any ingredient lists. For all I know, it is possible to make the each item, at a much lower cost, by buying its ingredients separately.

Originally posted by soilman
I can't find any ingredient lists. For all I know, it is possible to make the each item, at a much lower cost, by buying its ingredients separately.

I thought the same thing too a few weeks ago when I was on their site. So, I emailed them and they said they'd get back to me in 7 business day (they never did though). I had asked them how where to get the ingredient listing without having to physically go to their store (what if I wanted to shop online)? They never responded. I then called their customer service line. She said she could tell me what was in a specific item if I wanted to know, but to give me a listing for every item isn't possible. She reinterated to me that their products do not contain any animal ingredients however (since I told her that was my main concern and I wanted to verify it for myself). It's odd that they just don't have some way you can click on a product and see it's ingredients.

I would think that if Body Shop had absolutely no animal derived ingredients, they'd put that on there. I'm just wondering if this woman on the phone really knew what she was talking about.

Yeah. I thought the same thing. I would think that if that was the case (no animal ingredients), why wouldn't it be advertised? I would think that would be capitalized on. Maybe the woman is confused and thinks because the company doesn't test on animals or use products from companys that test on animals that there aren't animal products used in the making of their product. Anyone that can solidly prove it either way it would be greatly appreciated. I've always used quite a bit of their products and this is really bugging me that I can't find a good answer. I would feel better if I could find it in writing somewhere.

Here's what I've found so far.

The Body Shop is pure evil; they use ethics as a big marketing ploy so I'm not even sure if they deserve to be on this page. Do any of their products not contain beeswax? They are also fond of lanolin, gelatin, milk and honey. They have leather sofas in their Toronto headquarters. The company is for "animal protection." They used to claim they would find an "ethical" source of lanolin by the end of 1997 and for the rest of their animal byproducts by 2000. Nicely point out that there is no such thing.
*Source www.vegatus.org re: non-veg*n products

The Body Shop. If you wish to purchase products from the Body Shop, ask the clerk to see the product information sheet. Some managers of the Body Shop instruct their employees to tell customers that a product does not contain animal products and has not been tested on animals, even though this could be false information. Buyer Beware! (from someone who used to work at the body shop)
*Source www.ivu.org (international vegetarian union) re: faq

Some Body Shop items contain animal products such as gelatine (crushed bone).
As the Body Shop rely so heavily on their 'green', 'caring' image, they have threatened or brought legal action against some of those who have criticised them, trying to stifle legitimate public discussion.
*Source: London Greenpeace
http://www.mcspotlight.org/beyond/companies/bodyshop.html

Wow :mad: this really makes me mad! If there's one thing I can't stand is a liar! Well, they've just lost a customer. I have to take my recommendation for this company back. Shop there at your own risk.

MsRuthieB, when you said "i contacted corporate headquarters" I erroneously assumed that you wrote them a letter and you wrote them back.!!! Now i realize I didn't stop to ask whether they wrote you, or spoke to you on the phone, or what.

I ought to add that you can't really rely on what someone says on the telephone, about a product. If you really want to know whether there are animal ingredients in a product, you need a statement on the company's letterhead, saying so -- at the very least. Even that could be a deception. But relying on telephone conversations alone is practically asking to be deceived.

Soilman...thanks. This is what I've learned from this experience...don't trust a company's spoken work. You are so right when you say to get it in writing. 6 months ago I wouldn't have thought to question the ingredients; this is my first attempt. Ah, live and learn I suppose.

Unfortunately, with their obcession about "doing good," all kinds of do-gooders make themselves easy prey for wolves in sheep's clothing, who wish to sell to those with a tremendous need to be doing good, ways to do good that don't seem to take too much effort.

This is not to say that I know anything specific, about the body shop. A few articles trashing them are suggestive, but these could be deceptions too. Written or spoken reports -- how reliable are they? Can we assume something is reliable if it appears to come from a reliable source. Is the appearance, in any particular case, real, or merely an appearance? There is no substitute for first-hand knowledge. Sorting out second hand sources is sometimes harder than getting knowledge first hand, but sometimes getting knowledge first hand is just too hard, and we have to do the best we can with second-hand sources.

"a massage with some nice hemp oil and then the body butter...it really doens't get much better than that!"

I think that it makes more sense to evaluate the people who do the massages, evalutate them according to who gives a better massage, than to try to relate the quality of a massage to the massage-oil being used. I am sure there are people who use the best massage oils -- and give absolutely incompetant massages. In other words: it doesn't get much better than Vivian.

Originally posted by MsRuthieB
The Body Shop. If you wish to purchase products from the Body Shop, ask the clerk to see the product information sheet. Some managers of the Body Shop instruct their employees to tell customers that a product does not contain animal products and has not been tested on animals, even though this could be false information. Buyer Beware! (from someone who used to work at the body shop)
*Source www.ivu.org (international vegetarian union) re: faq

Um, did they ever hear of the McDonald's lawsuit? I hope they have lawyers.

SM - Is Vivian your significant other? I agree with it making a world of difference in who's giving the massage. I can feel the love and tenderness coming though me when I give my b/f a massage. It's a wonderful feeling to be able to make someone feel the way they do after they had a thoughtful massage, don't you think?

doesn't it though? f*cked up world it is and all getting me addicted and then finding out it was all a lie..a big fat f*ckin lie..i hope they choke on every damn nickel I ever gave em. I feel so dupped.

F*ckers. Anyone got any ideas for a replacement for me? Thats animal friendly? That doesn't cost me a small investment? I'm wide open for ideas...

Thanks much in advance.

"down with the body shop! demons! bastards! let's go chain ourselves to all their stores and..and...do something. "

Geez. Maybe you should consider swinging from one extreme from one extreme to the other? You're too even-tempered.

"doesn't it though? f*cked up world it is and all getting me addicted and then finding out it was all a lie..a big fat f*ckin lie..i hope they choke on every damn nickel I ever gave em. I feel so dupped. "

Oh my goodness. Another graduate of an anger-mangement course.

Ha! You quack me up funky :D

Soilman - I am actually a very even tempered polite person 99.9% of the time. Just don't lie to me, play me like a fool, or flip me the bird. Or else Mrs. Hyde comes out to play. We all have an aggressive side to us, right? Just different 'push' buttons.

that sucks, i really like body shop stuff. when i saw the initial post i thought i'd run right out and buy some body shop makeup cause i've been trying to find an animal junk-free brand for a while. bah

jason cosmetics is usually pretty good though, their lotions and shampoo are nice, i haven't tried the other products yet. the labels say cruelty free and no animal ingredients. a bit expensive, but not more so than body shop

" We all have an aggressive side to us, right? Just different 'push' buttons."

No, no, no. Not me. I am always nice. Ladylike, too.

Originally posted by soilman
No, no, no. Not me. I am always nice. Ladylike, too.

HaHaHa! Yes you are nice, Soilman. But now I'm a bit confused on the ladylike part. Aren't you a gentleman? Or have I been under the wrong impression? Well, that could be a joke too. Oh, I'm having a moment...HELP!!!

OK, gentlemanly. I get confused.

Thank you so much for clearing that up. Because there was one person here that I thought for some reason was a male that ended up being a female and another I thought was a female and ended up being a male. It's hard to tell sometimes, especially if the person doesn't have an avatar or the avatar is unisex, sort of like yours.

Not to change the subject -- but it is often seems obvious what sex a person is, from their thoughts -- and I seem to be right abut 9/10 of the time. But there are indeed people whose thoughts either don't give away which sex they are, or seem to suggest the wrong sex. I guess that's what makes people interesting. Another thing that makes them interersting is that statistically sex-identifying thoughts don't necessarily correlate with sexual desire expression. Women who sound like "girly-girls" sometimes prefer other women; women who sound like "construction workers" or "policemen" sometimes prefer men. As Cole Porter said "heaven knows -- anything goes!"