| Anita Roddick, 64, ‘Queen of Green' Founded Body Shop
Anita Roddick, who died yesterday at 64 after suffering a brain hemorrhage, was a globe-trotting hippie who in 1976 founded the Body Shop as a small cosmetics store in southern England, and then built it into an international powerhouse with $1 billion in annual sales in 50 countries. She managed to do so while making her firm a leader in dozens of causes: workers' rights, prison reform, environmentalism, and opposition to animal testing. The chain specializes in natural products, including ingredients such as tea-tree oil, African salt, and Brazil nuts harvested by Kayapo Indians. In the early days, Roddick urged customers to bring their used containers back for refills to cut down on packaging waste. She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2003 for "services to retailing, the environment, and charity," and sold the business in 2006 to the world's largest cosmetics maker, L'Oreal SA, in a deal valued at $1.2 billion.
Only natural ingredients
Susan Knapp's home-based Teels Hill Soapworks has a solid loyal following. Soapmaker Susan Knapp moves a tray of soap mixture to a rack to harden in the basement of her home in Plainfield Township. (PETE SHAHEEN, Allentown Morning Call / September 6, 2007) By Jeanne Bonner | Of The Morning Call September 17, 2007 .
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