Read The below Two articles and Select statement and Justify it

Article 1:

Body Shop's Corporate Profile When The Body Shop first opened its doors in 1976, it was a little green-painted shop in the streets of Brighton, England. Its approach to beauty was radically different to the big players in the beauty industry. It was simple - ethically sourced and naturally-based ingredients from around the world, in no-nonsense packaging you could easily refill. Products and beauty rituals made for everybody that made women feel good in their skin - never promising to make them look like someone else. Over 40 years ago, this kind of approach was ahead of the curve. With Anita's passion for the planet and campaigning for causes, The Body Shop was always more than just a beauty brand. It had purpose - profit and principles working in harmony. Our products were never tested on animals and didn't exploit anyone in making them. We worked fairly with farmers and suppliers, and helped communities thrive through our 16 Community Fair Trade programme. Today, there are more and more brands following in our footsteps, and we're glad to welcome them aboard. The world needs it. "The business of business should not just be about money, it should be about responsibility. It should be about public good, not private greed. "Dame Anita Roddick. Human Rights Activist. Founder of The Body Shop. The Body Shop International is the original, natural and ethical beauty brand, with over 2,500 stores in over 60 markets worldwide.

Against animal testing

Every one of our products is animal cruelty free and vegetarian. In fact we were the first international cosmetics brand to be recognized under the Humane Cosmetics Standard for our Against Animal Testing policy.

For trading fairly

We believe in fair trade to such an extent, that over 20 years ago we set up our own fair trade programme, called Community Fair Trade. We believe this level of commitment to trading fairly is unique in the cosmetics industry. Community Fair Trade now works with over 30 suppliers in more than 20 countries, providing over 25,000 people across the globe with essential income to build their futures. Most of our products contain Community Trade ingredients.

Our beliefs

BUSINESS CAN BE A FORCE FOR GOOD. Business can drive positive change in the world. When Anita threw open the doors of The Body Shop, this was her belief. The products we create, the campaigns we run and the communities we support drive purpose as well as profit. We're change-makers and we always have been. These days, more and more businesses are waking up to the idea of business as a force for good, and we're glad to hear it. It's going to take all of us.

EVERYONE IS BEAUTIFUL. Our bodies have become fodder for the beauty industry to pick over, reshape and squash into moulds. We believe in the beauty of bodies - all bodies that feel nourished, strong, confident and real. We believe in the inner beauty that comes from joyful energy, self-esteem and attitude to life. Like our founder, Anita, we believe in products that empower every person's beauty - because everyone is beautiful.

FIGHTING TO EMPOWER WOMEN AND GIRLS. Fighting for equality is in our DNA, and that means equality for everyone. We exist to promote women's selfesteem, smash beauty taboos, celebrate female leadership and of course we ensure equal pay for equal work. Our feminism is inclusive and intersectional and we stand with everybody who identifies as female, across race, gender, class, ability, sexuality, age and body shapes. Our five core values The Body Shop is a leader in promoting greater corporate transparency, and we have been a force for positive social and environmental change through our campaigns around

our five core Values:

Support Community Fair Trade,

Defend Human Rights

Against Animal Testing,

Activate Self-Esteem, and

Protect Our Planet

We also have our own charity, The Body Shop Foundation. Launched in 1990, we give financial support to pioneering, frontline organisations that otherwise have little hope of conventional funding. The Foundation's focus is to assist those working to achieve progress in the areas of human and civil rights, environmental and animal protection

Sources: http://www.thebodyshop.com/services/aboutus_company.aspx; https://www.thebodyshop.com/ensg/about-us/our-story/a/a00002

Article 2:

The Body Shop Opens New 1M Beauty Innovation Hub Date: Jan 13, 2017, | author/source: The Body Shop

The Body Shop launches a new 3200 sq. ft., 1m beauty innovation hub in East Croydon, London. Uniquely this new laboratory will see marketing, sustainable sourcing and product development working in partnership to integrate all aspects of ethical product development and sourcing, helping drive innovation and sustainable development much more effectively. The move will support the brand in further reducing the environmental impact of products and give The Body Shop more scope and control over creating innovative new ethical products, using natural and Community Trade ingredients sourced from communities and bio-diversity hotspots all over the world.

Based at The Body Shop's head office in East Croydon, the new lab will test and incorporate new ingredients sourced from around the world to protect biodiversity and ensure a long-term, healthy and thriving environment for these ingredients. It will also fast track testing and product reformulation, using a unique ingredient database, with an initial focus on reducing the environmental impact of popular products that will have the greatest impact.

Gaetane David, Research and Innovation Director, The Body Shop says, "Today, The Body Shop is as committed to innovation and sustainability as ever. By broadening our in-house expertise, we're bringing product innovation and sustainable product development back in our hands and to the heart of our business.

"Our investment will not only enable us to accelerate our innovation pipeline but will importantly see us reduce the environmental impact of our product formulas. We will continue working closely with manufacturing partners to deliver best in class products". The Body Shop, with 3,100 stores in 66 countries, has committed to reducing year on year the environmental footprint of all product categories as part of its Enrich Not Exploit Commitment, which aims to propel it to be the most ethical and truly sustainable global business in the world. As part of this programme The Body Shop intends to double the size of its Community Trade programme, its unique community sourcing initiative, and develop an innovation pipeline that delivers pioneering cosmetic ingredients from biodiversity hotspots which helps to enrich these areas.

The Body Shop worked with Waldner to develop the lab, which is completely modular and therefore flexible to meet different requirements as the facility develops.

Source: https://www.labbulletin.com/articles/body-shop-opens-new-1m-beauty-innovation-hub

Team-Based Activity Discuss and select the statement you agree most strongly with and justify this selection by applying course theory to the case study.

The statements are:

Statement A: The Body Shop is successful because its competitive advantage lies in its ability to value the green environment and manage organisational challenges relating to sustainability. Do you agree or not? (Look at lecture 2 notes on what these concepts mean)

Statement B: The Body Shop is successful because its competitive advantage lies in its ability to innovate & manage a creative work environment. Do you agree or not? (Look at Week 3 Self-Directed Learning materials on Sustainability and Innovation. Use some of the concepts on innovation such as innovation streams and technology cycles to apply to the McDonald's case)