In addition to long-time customer favourites such as its hemp hand cream and satsuma body wash, the Body Shop has a reputation for its values-based business model, and its new Vancouver store showcases those beliefs. The first of its kind in Canada, this concept space is centred on the promotion of activism. “It’s really motivated around a needed philosophy that business should be a force for good,” says Hilary Lloyd, vice-president of marketing and corporate responsibility at the Body Shop.
To reduce its environmental footprint, the store design uses materials including reclaimed wood, recycled plastics and zinc façade cladding, a material that requires less energy to produce than other metals. The store is also equipped with shower gel and water bottle refill stations. “It’s another really nice step toward sustainability and being really mindful around plastic use in our stores,” Lloyd says.
An activism corner highlights opportunities for real-world participation to shoppers including information on the Body Shop’s roots as well as details on how to get involved in campaigns for issues such as gender equality and animal rights. “We’ll update that activism space with frequency depending on the issues that are important to us at the time and issues that matter,” says Lloyd, adding that their in-store staff members play a critical role in raising awareness. “Our store teams see themselves as activists and feminists and so they will be doing outreach at a local level, campaigning and engaging community on issues that progress social equality.”
The Body Shop, CF Pacific Centre, 701 W. Georgia St., Vancouver, thebodyshop.ca.
The Body Shop Hemp Hardworking Hand Protector, $21.
The Body Shop Bath Blend, $12.
The Body Shop French Lavender Pillow Spray, $18.
Style news
The Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto turns 25 this year. To commemorate the occasion, the museum has published an anniversary book, The World at Your Feet: The Bata Shoe Museum. Organized by colour, the hardcover edition features photographs celebrating more than 100 shoes of all types from its collection, from 18th-century moccasins to 1970s disco platforms and contemporary sneakers. Founded by Sonja Bata, the museum contains one of the largest shoe collections in the world with more than 14,000 artifacts dating from as far back as 4,500 years ago. For more information, visit batashoemuseum.ca.
Around the world, these Canadians are being recognized for their contributions to the fashion world. Dr. Alexandra Palmer, the Nora E. Vaughan senior curator at the Royal Ontario Museum, has won the Costume Society of America’s Millia Davenport Publication Award 2020 for her book, Christian Dior: History and Modernity, 1947 – 1957. This award honours scholarship in the study of costume published in a book or exhibition catalogue. And Fast Company chose Montreal-based ethical-design platform Goodee as a finalist in the art and design category of its 2020 World Changing Ideas Awards, which recognize those engaged with improving the climate crisis, social injustice or economic equality.
Aritzia recently launched the Aritzia Community Care Program, a $20-million initiative to give 150,000 Canadian frontline health care workers clothing packages to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Recognizing that health care workers’ sanitation standards require a washable wardrobe to wear to and from work, the Vancouver-based women’s fashion retailer has created Aritzia Community Relief Packages. These sets of easy-care, comfortable clothing items are available to purchase on Aritzia.com and are free of charge for licensed Canadian female health care workers, including doctors, nurses and health care aides caring for COVID-19 patients in hospitals, COVID-19 assessment centres and long-term care homes.
Communications agency Burstyn Inc. has launched Feel Good Flowers, a new charitable movement to show appreciation and raise funds for frontline hospital workers and patients by working with floral artists to create large-scale flower installations outside Toronto hospitals. The first installations were created at Women’s College Hospital and SickKids to in honour of Mother’s Day and National Nursing Week, with installations upcoming throughout June at St. Joseph’s Health Centre and more. Its organizers are also collecting funds on the Feel Good Flowers donation page, with 100 per cent of donations going to essential medical supplies and support related to COVID-19 at Toronto hospitals.
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