Today marks International Women’s Day, which provides Retail Gazette with the perfect opportunity to highlight some of the talented female founders that have used their businesses to campaign for change.
Anita Roddick, The Body Shop
Anita Roddick was the pioneering entrepreneur behind what became the UK’s leading ethical beauty retailer, The Body Shop.
While its status may have fallen behind in recent years under various owners, Roddick set out to create a brand that sold natural cosmetics which had not been tested on animals and came in refillable packaging.
The Body Shop continues to be a long-term partner of Cruelty Free International, with Roddick once explaining that “social and environmental dimensions are woven into the fabric of the company itself”.
Outside of her platform with The Body Shop, Roddick was a long-standing campaigner for environmental and social issues, including involvement with Greenpeace and The Big Issue.
Ruby Raut, Wuka
The B-Corp certified retailer, founded in 2017, joined forces with high street giant M&S last year in a joint campaign, dubbed ‘Say Pants to the Tax’, calling for the government to remove VAT from period underwear at the Autumn Statement.
Raut’s campaign saw much of the retail sector including John Lewis, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Primark come together to cover the cost of the tax on the specialist underwear before it was scrapped by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in November’s economic update.
The Nepalese founder has long been vocal about breaking down the stigma surrounding periods and has partnered with multiple charities to donate period pants to those in need.
Dame Vivienne Westwood, Vivienne Westwood
Westwood, who passed away in December 2022, advocated for hundreds of causes, NGOs, grassroot charities and campaigns during her time and was best known for her fierce activism on behalf of the planet.
Westwood often littered her designs with slogans and other political calls to action and was predominately known as a strong campaigner for climate change, nuclear disarmament and civil rights.
In 2007, she banned fur from all her lines and campaigned for the government to ban the sale of fur in the UK. She later lobbied the government in 2015 when she took to the streets in a campaign against fracking, just a month before the country’s general election.
Stella McCartney, Stella McCartney
Stella McCartney is one of the fashion industry’s most vocal champions of environmental issues.
McCartney’s namesake fashion brand boasts sustainable, ethical and cruelty-free creditientials. Her beauty line, Stella, is vegan and Leaping Bunny approved by Cruelty Free International.
McCartney works closely with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a charity committed to creating a circular economy by eliminating waste and pollution, circulating products and materials and regenerate nature.
In 2018, she partnered with the United Nations to launch a new sustainability charter which detailed 16 commitments to help fashion companies curb the damage the industry is having on the planet.
Chrissie Rucker, The White Company
Chrissie Rucker founded The White Company back in 1994 and in the years since, has used the business’ platform to promote and raise money for her not-for-profit social enterprise with The Princes Trust.
Rucker founded Women Supporting Women at The Prince’s Trust in 2018 and later the #ChangeAGirl’sLife campaign in 2020, which looks to raise funds to empower young women across the UK in employment, education or by starting their own businesses.
The White Company, alongside selling crafted home furnishings, clothing and scents, has also launched exclusive products where every sale acts as a donation towards the Trust.
Rebecca Morter, Lone Design Club
Kiwi-born fashion designer and London College of Fashion graduate Rebecca Morter set up the Lone Design Club in 2018 with a focus of spotlighting conscious consumerism and supporting smaller businesses.
LDC helps more than 200 designers connect with consumers with a passion for sustainable fashion via its online marketplace and pop-up locations.
The company partnered with Fenwick last year to set up one of its pop-ups inside the retailer’s former New Bond Street store, bringing an array of independent designer pieces to space on its first floor as well as hosting interactive workshops and “thought-provoking events that seamlessly blend creativity with conscious consumption”.
Morter has also headed to Downing Street to speak with prime minister Rishi Sunak on how the government can provide better access to finance and business development support for small and growing UK based businesses, as well as what needs to be done to empower small digitally native businesses into high streets and other retail destinations.
Sabrina Dhowre Elba, S’able Labs
Elba is a long-term vocal activist and ambassador for the United Nations’ International Fund for Agricultural Development, which helps to invest in and empower rural communities, especially women and girls, to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
During the pandemic, she created the beauty company alongside her husband, actor and humanitarian Idris Elba.
The Leaping Bunny approved business sources its ingredients from rural communities across the 54 nations in Africa, with Elba or her mother making regular trips to visit farmers in person.
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