The Body Shop turns new retail store into activism corner

Cosmetics company The Body Shop is using its new retail front as a space for activism and encourage visitors to explore and recycle products.Transforming into an interactive “activist workshop”, it aims to provide a unique experience, marketing the store with its tagline “It's time to scrub up our bodies and scrub up the world. Together, we're unstoppable”. The store includes an activism corner, gifting station, an exclusive fragrance range and a water station for thirsty customers as well. In a statement to Marketing, a spokesperson said the Singapore was one of the first five countries in which they opened such a concept store at, with the first country being UK last year. It was added that marketing efforts to promote the store included a virtual PR event with a 360 store tour

The activism corner lets customers discover The Body Shop's activist roots and how it is still fighting for a fairer and more beautiful world. Customers can choose to find out how they can get involved, and also take a stand with the brand’s global or local collective of fearless and restless activists. Meanwhile, the gifting station allows customers to get creative and personalise gifts with stamps, ribbons and recyclable paper to treat their friends and family to something “truly unique”, according to the company. Additionally, its fragrance range named “The Scents of Life” collection provides an opportunity to create a bespoke scent that can change with the user’s mood, schedule, or the time of day. It allows customers to mix and match from a selection of 16 cruelty-free fragrances, essences and spritzes for women and men.

The store itself allows visitors to easily recycle their beauty product packaging. Customers can update the workshop staff if they want to return and recycle any of The Body Shop's plastic empty bottles, tubs, tubes and pots. Following this, they can drop their clean and dry empty packaging in The Body Shop’s Return.Recycle.Repeat bin so that it can help recycle and repurpose it. According to The Body Shop, the recycling bin is also available in the UK, Australia, Canada, France and Germany.

The outlet comes fitted with “green” materials such as reclaimed wood and recycled plastics to help minimise its environmental impact. The store also includes Zinc facade cladding, EKOpty worktop surfaces that are manufactured from 100% recycled material destined for landfill, and stools that have been made using reclaimed steel for the frames and recycled wood for the seats.

Kean Hye Yang, GM APAC for The Body Shop said the company hoped to take everyone on this "next exciting sustainable shopping journey".

Separately, The Body Shop Malaysia franchisee InNature recently sought an initial public offering (IPO) in Malaysia, to raise approximately RM120.6 million. InNature looked to grow its revenue and strengthen its leadership in the mono-brand beauty industry as well as the naturals beauty market.

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