Learning from Anita Roddick's body of work

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.