COSMETICS WITH A CONSCIENCE

The Body Shop has 316 franchises in 37 countries. More than a dozen stores are planned for the United States this year, in addition to the 13 already operating on the East Coast. (The first US store opened two years ago.) Among the company's operational policies:

All staff are encouraged to participate in a community project. (New York staffers work in a hospice, for example.)

All products are sourced in the third world, in order to provide employment and trade.

Packaging is minimal and reusable.

No animal testing.

Instead of advertising and marketing, The Body Shop has a Department of Anthropology and a Department of Social Inventions, the latter responsible for organizing soup kitchens, visits to prisons, and conservation projects.