The Body Shop
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 5 sources
British skincare and body care chain, bought by Auréa in 2024.
Until The Body Shop switches to synthetic mica or traces its natural mica to mines that are checked independently, it can't show that children don't dig it.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It uses natural mica that it can't trace. That alone means a poor grade until it switches to synthetic mica or takes steps to trace it to the mine.
- It isn't Harm on record, because there's no serious confirmed problem on its record.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 1 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsJudged on where beauty and personal care products are usually made: worker rights are poorly protected in the United States, China and Thailand.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Not met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that list
- Not met: Uses only synthetic mica or none, or traces natural mica to independently checked mines, and traces or certifies other high-risk ingredients (palm oil) where they're a major part of its rangeNot traced or certified: palm oil
Red flags 2
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Uses natural mica it can't trace to the mine
- Red flag: Fails its category's raw-material check (means Lacks transparency)
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
We couldn't confirm where The Body Shop makes most of its products, so this shows where beauty and personal care products are usually made.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| United States | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Low |
| France | Regular violations | About a living wage | Low |
| China | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Thailand | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Italy | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| South Korea | No guarantee of rights | Close to a living wage | Low |
| Germany | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| Japan | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| United Kingdom | Regular violations | Close to a living wage | Low |
| Spain | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| Indonesia | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| India | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
Evidence
What we found
- Modern slavery statement
- Doesn't show where its palm oil comes from. Palm oil is linked to forced and child labour on some Malaysian and Indonesian plantations, so it can't be graded Good until it traces or certifies it.
- Uses natural mica, much of it dug by hand in illegal or unregulated mines in India and Madagascar, where children work and pits collapse. It hasn't shown any steps on its mica, such as switching to synthetic mica, joining the Responsible Mica Initiative or tracing it to the mine, so it's graded Lacks transparency until it does. Source
Research notes The Body Shop publishes modern slavery statements and an ethical trade programme, but the pages found name no countries where its products are made and give no supplier list or audit results. Its January 2024 mica policy requires suppliers to trace natural mica to the mine and have mines and processors audited against the Responsible Mica Initiative standard by the end of 2025, but it doesn't say the targets were met, and membership of the Initiative could not be confirmed from an official source. It was sold by Natura &Co to Aurelius in 2023, went into administration in 2024 and was bought by Auréa Group; it is no longer a B Corp.
Sources and actions
Sources 5
Show all 5 sources
- The Body Shop (Shop Ethical) · search the archive · Lead only: owned by Aurea Holding; former B Corp; reports Responsible Mica Initiative membership (2023); not used for graded facts
- Mica policy summary (The Body Shop, January 2024) · search the archive · Requires mica traceable to processing unit and mine with third-party audits (RMI standard in India) by end-2025; applies only to natural mica; 100% traceable mica by 2025 as a goal
- The Body Shop rescued from administration (Personnel Today, 2024) · search the archive · Auréa Group bought The Body Shop in September 2024, including North American and Australian assets
Published by The Body Shop or its owner
- Our Suppliers and Ethical Sourcing Standards (The Body Shop US) · search the archive · Ethical Trade Programme standards; mica and palm oil among six prioritised supply chains; no countries, supplier counts or audit results
- Modern slavery statement (The Body Shop) · search the archive · Publishes a modern slavery statement (2025 file); text not shown on page
Company details
- Owned by
- Auréa Group
- Headquarters
- United Kingdom
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is The Body Shop ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/the-body-shop, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
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