George at Asda and The Body Shop receive RSPCA Good Business Awards

The RSPCA Good Business Awards, held on 7th October, presented The Body Shop with the Lifetime Achievement award and praised the efforts of George at Asda in raising standards of animal welfare. Jennifer Ebert writes.

The RSPCA Good Business Awards were set up in recognition of the achievements of companies in the cosmetics, fashion and food industries to attain higher standards of animal welfare by implementing sustainable policies and practices.

The Awards are open to all companies in the UK in the Cosmetics, Fashion and Food industries that show innovation and excellence in advancing animal welfare. For companies large and small the Awards acknowledge and promote those that go the extra mile to include animal welfare as part of their ethical business policy.

The Fashion industry has seen a growth in the number of high street names entering the Awards. The winner of the large company award was George at Asda which has made tremendous steps in a relatively short time to address the most important areas across it’s business to raise standards of animal welfare.

Paul Wright, technical director of George at Asda, said, ‘This is a fantastic award win for both the team and our suppliers who have achieved a great amount in a relatively short space of time.  This is a real journey for us and we’re very committed to raising animal welfare issues and checking the traceability of our products by working collaboratively with our suppliers.’

This year was the last time the Cosmetics category will feature in the awards after it became illegal to sell or import any cosmetic ingredients or products tested on animals into the EU. In recognition of this important milestone, The Body Shop was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award for making the greatest contribution to achieving this ban.

Jan Buckingham, director of global values at The Body Shop, said, ‘What a great way to celebrate Anita’s legacy and twenty years of hard work and dedication to animal welfare.’

The Body Shop