The Body Shop Canada redecorates to focus on refillables and activism

12-Mar-2020 - Last updated on 12-Mar-2020 at 16:10 GMT

photo courtesy of The Body Shop

The Natura subsidiary reopened its CF Pacific Centre store in Vancouver, Canada, this month with new features meant to reintroduce consumers to the brand’s progressive mission for gender equality, environmental sustainability, and more.

“The new Vancouver concept store marks the return to our activism roots,” says Hilary Lloyd VP of Marketing and Corporate Responsibility at The Body Shop, in her remarks to the press.

“We want our customers to roll up their sleeves and join us in playing with product, recycling, refilling and campaigning for issues that progress equality,” she says.

In-store activism at The Body Shop

Beauty retail activism has made headlines here on Cosmetics Design, for instance when Beautycounter opened a first store in New York City in late 2018.

And now as more beauty brands are refocusing attention on brand purpose, initiatives like the Body Shop redo in Vancouver are increasingly common. The new store design includes what’s being called an “activism corner.” It’s a space where shoppers can learn about The Body Shop founder, Dame Anita Roddick’s activism as well as about the brand’s ongoing campaigns for gender equality and against animal testing.

And according to this month’s media release, the activist corner is a place where “consumers can also find out how they can get involved and take a stand with The Body Shop's global and local collective of fearless activists.”

Recycling and refilling personal care products at The Body Shop

The CF Pacific Centre store has a product refill station too. Consumers can refill aluminum shower gel bottles with one of five popular scents: British Rose, Shea, Pink Grapefruit, Almond Milk & Honey, Satsuma, and Coconut. A 250mL bottle with shower gel is retailing for $12 and a refill on its own is selling for $7.

The Body Shop is also partnered with TerraCycle. And the Vancouver store will continue to facilitate the Return, Recycle, Repeat program that gives consumers a voucher in exchange for empty bottles, jars, tubes, and pots.

With all this as well as with new sustainable store fixtures and décor materials throughout, the “newly transformed Pacific Centre location showcases the best of The Body Shop's brand values,” says Lloyd.

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Deanna Utroske is a leading voice in the cosmetics and personal care industry as well as in the indie beauty movement. As Editor of the news website CosmeticsDesign.com, she writes daily articles about the business of beauty in the Americas region and regularly produces video interviews with cosmetics, fragrance, personal care, and packaging experts as well as with indie brand founders.