A 40-year-old retail revolution

With The Body Shop such a regular fixture in almost all major retail outlets and malls, it may be easy to forget how it was only in 1976 that the late Dame Anita Roddick set out to do something very differently in the retail market. To see business as a force that could do good, to be in the skincare, bodycare, and cosmetics segment with an absolute ban on testing one’s products on animals, while promoting fair trade with third world countries, was then considered an unheard of, revolutionary retail stance.

But human rights activist and environmental campaigner Roddick stood her ground, and from the first Brighton shop that was established between two funeral parlors, The Body Shop, even after its acquisition by L’Oréal in 2006, has remained true to the founding vision of Roddick, who passed away in 2007.

So it comes as no surprise that when The Body Shop Philippines would conceptualize an event to promote its new product — the Drops of Light skincare line — it would make the event an opportunity to partner with individuals and enterprises that share the innovative start-up vision that Roddick had.

Aisa Mijeno and brother Raphael are behind SALt (Sustainable Alternative Lighting), a new enterprise that plans to bring saltwater-fueled lamps to far-flung rural areas that have traditionally depended on kerosene for their lamps. An Engineering faculty member at De La Salle Lipa in Batangas, Mijeno is utilizing technology that has already existed, but by using saltwater to charge the batteries of LED fixtures, she exhibits the vision to see how it could be applied in a manner beneficial for particular local communities, and is in the process of mass-producing these modified lamps.

As for the Drops of Light line, in consonance with its “Enrich not exploit” philosophy, the raw ingredients include community trade marula oil from Namibia and aloe vera from Mexico. With North Atlantic red algae as the main active ingredient, Drops of Light promises brighter, healthy-looking skin by reducing dark spots and skin pigmentation — inhibiting melanin production with prolonged use.

The four cornerstone products are the Pure Healthy Brightening Serum, the Pure Clarifying Foam Wash, the Pure Translucency Essence Lotion and the Pure Healthy Brightening Day Cream. The lotion is the first step after cleansing while the day cream promises 24-hour hydration. The serum, which one applies before moisturizing, reduces skin imperfections and yellowness.

With the proliferation of brands espousing the healthy, organic and natural tagline, it is good to pause and recognize one of the original practitioners of this corporate philosophy — the one who truly gambled when it wasn’t such an accepted or sought-for attribute and has indubitably proven that success can come, even with ideals and principles that may not always make the best or cost-efficient business sense. The Body Shop can be very proud of its 40-year provenance.

Of abduction and fantasy

The Montes novel is written by one of the new faces of psychological crime fiction, the author hailing from Brazil. Barbery and Anders dabble in the genres of fantasy and science-fiction with their latest.

Perfect Days by Raphael Montes (available on Amazon.com) Montes is already regarded as a major psychological horror/crime writer in his native Brazil. This translated novel of Montes clearly displays what all the fuss is about. Teo is a geeky medical student who meets the waif-like Clarice and falls in love with her. An aspiring screenplay writer, Clarice does not share the same feelings but is “kidnapped” by Teo, stuffed into a large suitcase and is made to live a life on the road with Teo, retracing the route of her three heroines in her screenplay Perfect Days. With twists and turns that do surprise, this ill-fated love story turns grisly, perverted and macabre in equal measures. And all throughout, as one reads this bizarre tale, one can imagine it being turned into a film — with a young David Cronenberg-type director as the perfect choice.

The Lives of Elves by Muriel Barbery (available at National Book Store) Having authored the sublime The Elegance of the Hedgehog, it is great to see Barbery shifts gears in a big way with this new novel — creating a seemingly contemporary novel that can be described as an incursion into Tolkien territory. Maria in France and Clara in Italy are both foundlings with extraordinary talents and abilities. Living in a rural village, Maria sees magical creatures while Clara is brought to Rome as a musical prodigy. As the story develops it would seem that both girls have been recruited by elves to save humanity, as an impending war between mystical, otherworldly forces would have the annihilation of humankind as one of its consequences. With a cast of colorful creations, whether in the French village or the palazzos of Rome, there is much to absorb here.

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders (available on Amazon.com) Feted for her work that bridges fantasy with science-fiction, Anders’ latest book offers two very distinct protagonists in a tale set in a near, dystopian future. There is Patricia, who, as a young girl, discovers she can talk to animals and is called a witch by said creatures. Then there is Laurence, a Science geek who has no friends and invents a two-second time travel gadget. Outcasts in middle school, these two end up as tenuous friends. In a classic set-up of Science versus magic, we are treated to a vast story that takes our two from adolescence to functioning adults, each trying in their own way to bring some kind of reason to a world bent on self-destruction. Interesting factoids about how magic is divided into healers and tricksters. Engrossing tale that speaks of a world in balance.