Because we're all connected

A couple of great environmental awareness videos for a Friday afternoon. Who knew you could learn something in 72 seconds and be entertained at the same time!

'Because We're all Connected' - WWF Animation:




'Clean Coal Air Freshener' - The Reality Coalition (Directed by the Cohen Brothers)

There is no humane way to kill a whale

Leisel Jones joins WSPA (World Society for the Protection of Animals) in the fight for a permanent end to whaling.

A MESSAGE FROM LEISEL JONES
"As a swimmer, I've always loved marine life and whales in particular. But sadly, these beautiful and highly intelligent mammals continue to be hunted and killed. And even worse, they're killed using outdated weaponry that often means a slow and agonising death.
There's even scientific evidence showing there is no humane way to kill a whale. This one irrefutable fact is why there must be a permanent end to whaling.
So join me in letting the Australian Government know you oppose whaling because, quite simply, it's cruel. And that Australia should be leading the world in helping protect the welfare of these incredible animals. Please take action today".
Watch the video to see why whaling should be banned. (No overtly graphic material is shown, however certain scenes may distress some viewers).


Take Action. Join WSPA in telling the Australian Government that there is no humane way to kill a whale.

Black Saturday!

Personal testimony from Julie Barker, Independent Senior Director for The Body Shop At Home and how her family has been affected by and reacted to the very nearby Victorian bush fires.

*****

What a devastating tragedy and to have it occur only 20 mins or so from my house was very hard to believe. Wandong, Kinglake and the surrounding areas, are areas I know really well, having partied all over there many times and I have lots of lovely hosts/friends and customers there.

Thankfully my hosts are ok, and with houses, but they are all shell shocked and devastated as so many of them have lost lots of friends and to lose so many houses in the area is a huge shock for them all. There are still people unaccounted for. It is truly a beautiful area and one that will never be the same again and the towns and the local communities will struggle to come to terms with the loss of so many families, who either perished in the fires or will never return to this beautiful area.

As I watched the news on the Sunday night, after returning home from a weekend away, all I could do was wonder about all the people I knew in the area. I have never felt so helpless in my life. My daughter was also worried as she had friends upset as they were worried about their friends. The not knowing was hard, so between us we bundled up bedding and linen to donate the next day as a start. The next day I decided I needed to do something, I couldn’t just stay at home. So I headed to Whittlesea with my donations and offered my help, it was accepted straight away.

The day was spent sorting clothes and toys, the generosity was amazing, and things kept coming and coming. Dealing with the families that had lost everything was confronting and hard to put into words how to describe it. The one thing that will stick in my mind is the sheer look for devastation on their faces, tears not far away, and a feeling of hopelessness. To be able to help in a small way was the only way I was able to deal with this shocking event, just to be a friendly face, assist where needed, from looking for toys for a deaf dog, finding clothes for tiny babies to looking after two little girls to give their mum a much needed break and letting survivors talk about their experience was all part of the day.

Each day I went up to help, more and more things appeared, clowns to amuse the children, the Aussie cricket team, actors from TV and on and on.

The way the community came together was something that makes me very proud to be Australian. The sea of donations was incredible and the enormous scale of the relief services is something I hope I never have to see again... My 16 year old daughter Jess and my older son Justin both pitched in and helped on one of the days. They were a big help and it really helped them both deal with it all.

This is the Youtube video Jess made in response to the disaster:



I am so glad I decide to assist last week, although the help and support doesn’t stop here, it will be ongoing for a long time to rebuild these communities. The resilient ones will bounce back, as one guy said when I asked him, how do you start again? His words “you just do!”

I struggle to write this as the tears flow, with the overwhelming sadness of it all but I am committed to be part of the rebuild process, to give back and assist where needed, run pamper days for the women in the area, just to help out where I can. As life goes on and everything returns to normal for the majority of us all, spare a thought for families who have been affected by this tragic event. Their life is not going to return to what it was for a very long time.

Human Rights in Gaza.

By Adam Valvasori - Values Manager

More than 400 children were killed - image via BBC

Yesterday Amnesty International's National President Nicole Bieske gave us a presentation of their reaction and response to the recent Palestine - Israel situation.

Over a thousand innocent people mostly Palestinian, including women and children, lost their lives in the conflict. Unlike our tragic but mostly natural bushfire disaster, this was a totally man made event and therefore totally avoidable. It was really disturbing to also learn how the Israeli Army used a banned weapon called white phosphorous.

Deadly white phosphorous clouds exploding over Gaza via Personal Choices

"Such extensive use of this weapon in Gaza's densely populated residential neighbourhoods is inherently indiscriminate. Its repeated use in this manner, despite evidence of its indiscriminate effects and its toll on civilians, is a war crime." - Donatella Rovera, Amnesty’s researcher on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

We're lucky to have access to one of the world's best independent authorities on human rights. Here's the informative Al Jazeera video they showed us of Amnesty International investigators conducting house-to-house searches in Gaza and collecting all of the evidence, such as shrapnel fragments.

Amnesty has been busy lobbying the Australian Government and the United Nations for a peaceful resolution to this conflict.




Learn More:
Children hit hard as Gaza toll rises
Gaza: both sides endangering civilians
Israel’s use of white phosphorus confirmed
New Internationalist's Gaza Blog

Click here to learn how you can help Amnesty International defend human rights

The Salvation Army distributes more than $1 million in first three days

The Salvation Army is continuing to play a major role in helping those communities devastated by the Victorian bushfires. In the first three days since the bushfires started the Salvos have provided more than $1 million in immediate financial payments to bushfire victims across Victoria.

At Whittlesea and Wallan, two of the largest emergency response sites, The Salvation Army has assisted nearly 900 families and individuals with support and financial aid.

At Yarra Glen, Healesville and Traralgon The Salvation Army has assisted almost 500 people. The Salvation Army team at Bendigo have provided almost $40,000 in relief funds. The Salvation Army is currently working at 10 sites across the state, supporting the community in a variety of different ways.

The Salvation Army is also supporting the CFA, SES and other members of the emergency response teams at various sites in Victoria. For example, since arriving on the scene at Whittlesea last Saturday The Salvation Army has provided more than 12,000 meals to the teams who are doing an amazing job.

“The amazingly generous support from the Australian public and business community has enabled The Salvation Army to provide cash very quickly to those affected by the bushfires. In the early stages of the crisis, this is the best possible assistance we can offer to people left with nothing,” said Major Brad Halse, Communications Director.


“We have received nearly $9.2 million in donations to our Victorian Bushfire Appeal, as of 12 noon today, with more than 23,200 individual donations processed. These donations will ensure we are able to provide both the short term emergency support these communities need as well as making longer term plans to assist with the massive recovery effort needed across a great deal of our state,” he said.


“As the emergency response process continues and we move towards the recovery phase The Salvation Army will continue to offer financial, emotional and material support to individuals and families who have suffered great loss,” said Major Halse.

The Salvation Army would like to acknowledge the enormous support of key corporate supporters of the appeal in particular, IGA, and Myer. IGA has provided The Salvation Army with $1.5 million in vouchers, the largest corporate gift to date, whilst Myer has thus far raised $1.3 million for the appeal.

The appeal is still open, to donate to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal please call 13 SALVOS (13 72 58) or visit www.salvationarmy.org.au


Official Salvo's Bushfire Appeal Video:

Dig Deep for the Salvos Bushfire & Flood Appeal

By Adam Valvasori - Values Manager

Yesterday we labelled 80 Salvos tins, rolled posters into tubes, bubble wrapped it all and sent them off in overnight bags to our stores. It doesn't sound like a lot of work but it is! It wouldn't have been possible for The Body Shop to react so quickly to this emergency if it wasn't for the dozen or so people from around the office pulling together to help. We are also very grateful to our warehouse team for getting the order of 10,000 products off to the Salvos in record time.

Thanks guys a great effort. I'm proud of what we've achieved in only three days!

So from today you can help by going into any The Body Shop store and donating to the Salvos. Alternatively you can go to www.salvationarmy.org.au or call 13 72 58.

Yesterday the lovely Amy Baker from the Salvos came to our office to drop of the tins and the PR guy in me couldn't resist the 'photo op' below of Polly giving her our cheque. Yay.

Our response to the bushfires and floods

By Polly Caldow - Chief Executive






















Our first concern was if any of our staff or At Home consultants had directly lost their homes... or worst, loved ones. A few consultants were injured but thankfully, none seriously. Our heartfelt sorrow goes out to those who weren't so 'lucky'. We also would like to say a big thank you to all the volunteers that have helped out in this emergency.

So here is what we have organised to help our communities. If you have any suggestions or ways of helping us to help, please leave a comment below:

Short term:

1. We have joined forces with The Salvation Army to have collection tins sent to our stores. We appreciate the Salvo's philosophy of holistic rebuilding communities long after the emergency phase of the disaster is over. They are also helping communities affected by the floods in North Queensland.

The above poster and Salvos collection tins will be in our stores shortly to collect donations from customers.

2. We've started the ball rolling with a donation of $25,000.

3. The Salvation Army are supplying aid to five relief centres across Victoria in the affected areas. We are creating a special pack of practical products that will include shower gels, face washers and shaving cream for them to distribute. This donation of over 10,000 products will help over 2,500 victims.

4. The Salvos will also provide us with envelopes for our The Body Shop At Home consultants to use at their parties to collect donations.

5. Our web site will soon have a link to The Salvation Army site for people to make online donations.

6. We're making appointments for staff to donate blood at their nearest Red Cross Blood Bank.

7. Staff and consultants are buying or collecting items to donate to Salvos Stores, the RSPCA and Wildlife Victoria


Long Term:

We know that communities can't be rebuilt overnight, no matter how much money is raised. The Body Shop is therefore committed to helping with the long term rebuilding efforts:

1. Working with a local partner on the ground to assist in the rebuild of communities.

2. Helping those that are rebuilding their lives to restock their bathroom with a gift voucher to The Body Shop

3. Our staff and consultants will volunteer during business hours to assist in the clean up, rebuilding (and replanting) of devastated areas.

4. We will implement policies to better support staff who are CFA or SES volunteers.


Please help these communities to start to recover and rebuild by donating to the Salvos Emergency Relief Appeal http://salvos.org.au/

One Man’s Journey to Change the World, One Child At A Time

One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time.

Loving books I could not resist this cover, I was about to head to the airport and head to East Timor with the Children on The Edge group and I thought perfect book to take away. I did not get past the first chapter whilst I was away(far too busy with our little school), and it took a few months to pick it up again when I returned home. Once I began to read I couldn't put this book down, hence why it’s a New York Times Bestseller.

In 1993 Greg Mortenson drifted into an impoverished Pakistan village in the Karakoram mountains after a failed attempt to climb K2. Moved by the inhabitant's kindness, he promised to return and build a school. Three Cups of Tea is the story of that promise and its remarkable outcome.

"Here (in Pakistan and Afghanistan), we drink three cups of tea to do business; the first you are a stranger, the second you become a friend; and the third, you join our family, and for our family we are prepared to do anything - even die"

-Haji Ali, Korphe Village Chief, Karakoram Mountains, Pakistan

The reviews from acclaimed journalist and leading magazines and papers speak volumes for this book, and I love it so much I share it with you in this blog. Trust me once you start you will not want to put it down, i wanted to cry when I made it to the end. Needing to know more about Greg's work and what he is doing now. The book is also now available in a Young Adults version.

Needing to raise vital funds collecting pennies become an important step, which turned into Pennies for Peace. The Pennies for Peace Program (P4P) educates children about the world beyond their experience and how they can make a positive impact on a global scale, one penny at a time. It teaches children the rewards of sharing and working together to bring hope and education opportunities to the children in Pakistan and Afghanistan. A penny is virtually worthless, but in impoverished countries a penny buys a pencil and opens the door to literacy.

The best hope for a peaceful and prosperous world lies in the education of all the world’s children. Through cross-cultural understanding and a solution-oriented approach, P4P encourages children, ultimately our future leaders, to be active participants in the creation of global peace.

After working in the region for three years, Greg Mortenson co-founded Central Asia Institute (CAI), a registered non-profit organization in 1996. Central Asia Institute’s mission is to promote and support community-based education, especially for girls, in remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The philosophy is to empower the local people through their own initiative. As of 2008, Central Asia Institute has successfully established 78 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, which provide (or have provided) education to over 28,000 students, with a emphasis on girls’ education. Over the first decade of CAI’s evolution, the programs and projects expanded to several regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan with an emphasis on education, health issues, environment and cultural preservation.

I don't want to give away too much of this amazing story so grab a copy and start reading, truly inspiring!

For more information visit;

CAI website http://www.ikat.org/ or the books' website http://www.threecupsoftea.com/ Pennies for Peace www.penniesforpeace.org

You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.

Gandhi.

Read, Learn, Be Inspired and willing to know about another Culture

Hot enough for ya?

Unless we act on climate change now you better get used to it!

By Adam Valvasori - Values Manager

The heatwave has caused transport chaos by buckling rail lines and leaving more than 140,000 homes without power, is a sign of climate change, the government said Photo: ADELAIDE ADVERTISER / CALUM ROBERTSON

South-eastern Australia is sweltering through one of the worst heatwaves in living memory. Climate scientists say we will experience many more – and more severe – heatwaves if we let climate change continue unchecked.

At the same time, North Queensland is experiencing severe flooding and the CSIRO predict Tropical cyclones may become more intense. Wind speeds may increase by 5-10% and precipitation rates may increase by 25-30%. More intense tropical cyclones would have serious implications for storm surge heights, wind damage, flooding and landslides.

There is projected to be a strong increase in the frequency of hot days and warm nights. The current projected number of days per year above 35°C for 2030, 2070, and 2100 in all capital cities is displayed below:

Read more about what we can expect via CSIRO’s reports on Climate Change impacts.

The ACF says that despite a lot of talk about climate change and carbon emissions, Australia’s level of greenhouse pollution continues to increase every year. This summer’s heatwave resulted in much suffering and hardship for millions of Australians and yet we don’t seem to be treating this massive problem with the urgency it deserves.

The time for vague concern about climate change happening ‘in the future’ is over – it’s happening now! We need you to engage in more activism in order to bring about change!

So what is The Body Shop doing about this right now? Glad you asked.

Meet Jen Orange a Monash University student doing a Masters in Environment and Sustainability. Jen is currently doing a ‘Green Steps’ placement here at The Body Shop. Her final report will help us calculate our carbon footprint; suggest ways of reducing and offsetting even more carbon. Thanks Jen! We are committed to start a more rigorous recording and reporting of our total annual greenhouse gas emissions. This is the first important step in becoming a totally carbon managed company. As you know we already offset all our electricity and cars, but we are eager to learn and do more! If you have ideas on how we can reduce our footprint – let us know by posting a comment below!

A quick golf clap to Nadeem Khan from our techy team who participated in the ACF Save our Icons BBQ online event on the Australia Day Long Weekend. The task was to take a photo of our Australia Day party with a message to Kevin Rudd stating which great Australian icon we don't want to lose to climate change. Take a squiz at the rest of the photos.

That's as good a segue as any:

WHY IS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S PLAN TO CUT CARBON POLLUTION BY JUST 5% TARGET A FAILURE?

1. A weak target of 5–15 per cent by 2020 will not position Australia to save the Great Barrier Reef, or the Australian Alps.
2. To set credible science based targets, we need 25 - 40% cuts by 2020.
3. If other countries took similar targets to Australia it would spell catastrophe for the environment.
4. The targets from the Government’s White Paper are way too low and the payouts to big polluters are way too high.
5. Australians have not given permission for our Government to give up on our much loved and important natural icons.

Courtesy of The Australian Conservation Foundation www.acfonline.com.au

Greenpeace Design Awards & Japan Resumes Whaling

By Adam Valvasori - Values Manager






























The Body Shop knows how important a cause-related poster can be at grabbing attention and effectively conveying a message. We've been campaigning publicly every year since 1986 . So we'd like to encourage any creative heads out there to get behind the 2009 Greenpeace Design Awards. Coincidently our very first campaign in Australia was with Greenpeace to raise awareness about whaling (see below).

The 2009 brief is to design a poster that delivers the message ‘Be a Part of the Action’ – this does not necessarily have to be expressed in words. The poster could bear witness to catastrophic environmental damage and in doing so, cause outrage. Alternatively the poster could actively encourage peaceful protest to expose an environmental problem.

Above all, the poster needs to raise awareness of environmental issues and inspire action.

For more information go to: www.greenpeacedesignawards.org.au

While we're talking about Whaling, you might not have noticed (with all the economic crisis coverage) Japanese whalers have resumed their whaling "research". The Age has quite a few relevant news articles.

Good luck and safe hunting from everyone at The Body Shop to the The Sea Shepherd crew on Operation Musashi who are trying to stop them. You can read the Steve Irwin crew members' blog entries here. You might also want to check out the Sea Shepherd's Youtube channel.