AEGiS-PRn: Retailer Fights AIDS: Raises Money And Awareness For World AIDS Day-- Every Day Almost 6,000 People Are Newly Infected With HIV, The Virus Which Causes AIDS. -- American Association for World Health.

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1996. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Retailer Fights AIDS: Raises Money And Awareness For World AIDS Day-- Every Day Almost 6,000 People Are Newly Infected With HIV, The Virus Which Causes AIDS. -- American Association for World Health.

PR Newswire, 810 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019 - Monday, 25 November 1996 11:25 AM EDT

WAKE FOREST, N.C., Nov. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Although it may not make the daily headlines anymore, the AIDS crisis is not going away. It is estimated that by the year 2000, 110 million people will be infected by HIV, the virus that causes AIDS*. And there is still no cure in sight.

What can we do to stop the spread of AIDS? One cosmetics retailer, The Body Shop, believes that awareness is the key; and the company has been promoting this message for more than three years.

"As retailers, we have a unique opportunity and obligation to bring this issue to the attention of our customers," said Anita Roddick, Founder of The Body Shop. "With AIDS now the number one killer of American women and men ages 25-44**, the business community is frighteningly remiss if we don't step up to the plate and take the first swing."

Stepping up to the plate meant training the company's employees first. Training classes, manuals and videos are provided periodically to corporate employees and shop staff. The Body Shop goes further by encouraging its employees to get involved in local AIDS-related community service programs, and allows each staff member paid time to engage in such work.

In 1993, The Body Shop launched its groundbreaking "Protect & Respect" campaign, featuring eye-catching portraits by noted photographer Annie Leibovitz. The intent was to give a human face to the disease, and it has been one of the most successful campaigns in the retailer's long history of social activism and advocacy.

In 1994, the company became the first national retailer to promote and sell the Until There's A Cure Foundation's commemorative AIDS bracelet, raising money for AIDS education, support and vaccine research. So far, The Body Shop has sold nearly 100,000 of the bracelets, raising more than $1.5 million for Until There's A Cure.

This year, The Body Shop offers an exclusive terra-cotta holiday ornament, proceeds from which will provide meals for people currently living with HIV and AIDS.

"Retailing today is not just about buying and selling. It's about information and communication. It's addressing the real needs of your customers. And this is a real need," Roddick said.

The Body Shop joins thousands of companies and millions of individuals worldwide in recognition of the ninth annual World AIDS Day, December 1st, and urges its customers and fellow retailers to do the same.

For more information, contact Lorilei Beer at (919) 554-8326. Video news release, b-roll footage and photographs are available.

* Harvard University School of Public Health

** U.S. Centers for Disease Control

SOURCE The Body Shop

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