Learning from Anita Roddick's body of work

Wimar Witoelar, Jakarta

The Body Shop founder and chief executive Anita Roddick is coming to Jakarta soon. There is a lot to learn from this world- class figure who is both a successful businesswoman and a renowned social activist. Perhaps we should consider the relevance of her visit to the nation's current situation.

What makes Roddick relevant to Indonesia, specifically to our slowly emerging civil society? To start with, we should not talk about Roddick's business but use another body analogy, that of dieting.

Growing a civil society is a little like going to Weightwatchers. Weight loss is easy in the beginning but becomes much harder later on.

Indonesia had a powerful start in 1998 with our reform movements and NGO activism, largely due to the pent-up energy built up after so many years under the rule of Soeharto. As many thought, the social pressure for positive reform had long lurked beneath the surface of our culture, and the NGO movement actually grew under the polarizing effect of Soeharto's New Order. But once that potential energy was spent, it was not followed by more kinetic energy.

Many diets succeed in delivering around three kilograms of weight loss quite rapidly. This is largely because of the burning off of excess water and surface fat. The next three kilos refuse to go away so easily and often come back with a vengeance later on. So it can be with reform. After the first period of exhilaration, disenchantment creeps in, unprincipled opportunists jump on the civil society bandwagon, and unmet expectations create a downward spiral of deepening negativity and apathy. Look what is happening now. Leaders in civil society are caught in corruption scandals, cynical political power plays and abuses of their parliamentary positions.

The more mature a society is, the more difficult it is to exact internal reform. But once a critical threshold is passed, reforms do become institutionalized and lasting. This is what we can learn from Roddick's experience. Her social activism is supported by her strength in the business marketplace. With this background her social reforms are institutionalized into her business network. Good causes are internalized in the work practices of her employees at The Body Shop as they gradually gain legitimacy from broader-based social institutions.

This model is particularly appropriate for Indonesia because Roddick's institutions cater to the middle class. The Body Shop is not accessible to the common people but it is a regular fixture in luxury malls. Roddick's messages of environmental sustainability and the fight against domestic violence are now being spread to shoppers here in a non-threatening way.

A common mistake in the NGO reform movement is the creation of what has been called a "conscience divide", where well- intentioned activists have the choice of either preaching to the converted or taking on hostile communities and running the risk of being ultimately ignored. A better way would be to gain the confidence of the entire public, including the middle classes.

Roddick is hugely successful in business. From zero beginnings, The Body Shop has grown to about 2,000 outlets in 50 countries, with annual revenues approaching US$700 million. Yet Roddick has been outspokenly critical of the business world for its emphasis on capital accumulation over job creation. She even makes disrespectful comments about the cosmetics industry that has helped make her a world-class business figure.

This has invited people from all sides to criticize her. Since the mid-1990s, detractors have charged that her moralistic stance as exemplified in her book Business as Unusual is a marketing ploy. But Roddick has confronted the attacks head-on and won most of the points in the public arena.

Her role as a force of change in the growth of civil society is now her raison de'tre, rivaling her business success. Her activism extends from issues in the environment, human rights, social justice, illegal logging and stopping domestic violence. Time magazine listed her as a European Hero of 2004. She appears in seminars on leadership alongside Bill Clinton. Britain's Queen Elizabeth II awarded her the title of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. The United Nations Environment Program has recognized her as one of 25 female leaders to have made outstanding contributions to the environment. She has published various books such as Body & Soul, Kindness, Brave Hearts, Rebel Spirits and the best-seller Business as Unusual.

The experience in Indonesia has seen civil society strengthening since the early 1990s with the mobilization of numerous committed NGOs. One milestone achieved was the visit to Jakarta of the then newly appointed World Bank President James Wolfenssohn in WHAT YEAR?. He invited 65 leaders and activists and conducted a spirited dialogue that brought the reform aspirations of the Indonesian public to the foreground. Although Soeharto was in power, the activists were not discouraged by government harassment and scrutiny. In 1998 the reformists prevailed and Soeharto stepped down.

While reformists were fighting a front-line battle against power, they were a force for change, much like Roddick has been. However, in Indonesia when the adversary retreated and scattered, advocates for an Indonesian civil society also lost their focus. The need for reform is still urgent, but the forces for change have become like disparate bubbles trying to surface in the murky waters of the new status quo. Like dieting, getting results gets harder over time.

This is not the case, however, in Roddick's experience. She started by herself in 1976 and is still fighting with the same energetic stance, picking up different causes without losing her essential role as a force for change. This is where we can learn from her experience and her personality. Roddick is engaged in a multitude of activities, but never loses her focus as a force for change. In the business area, Roddick introduced The Body Shop charter, which states that it is the moral obligation of a business to work towards sustainability. Her business practices have proven this credo to be consistent with market place survival. This is a new area of learning for Indonesian businesses which are now becoming more aware of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Roddick's success shows that commercial profits do not need to be in conflict with social responsibility. Business can play a multidimensional role effectively when social values are internalized into the corporate culture. This is the other lesson we can learn from Roddick's visit. Anything is possible if you have enough will to be a continuing force for change.

The writer is a political commentator. He can be reached at wimar@intermatrix.co.id.