Aromatherapy Associates Becomes an Ethical B Corporation

Wellness and aromatherapy brand Aromatherapy Associates achieved its B Corp Certification in 10 months, pledging to put people and the planet on the same footing as profit.

In October 2020, leading wellness and aromatherapy brand Aromatherapy Associates announced its achievement of becoming an ethical B Corporation. B Corp is a global movement and more ethical way of doing business that puts people and the planet on the same footing as profit.

3,500 companies across 150 industries have earned the B Corp certification to date, which typically takes several years to achieve. Aromatherapy Associates achieved the certification in just 10 months in recognition of its social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Since the company was launched in 1985, it has become one of the world’s top aromatherapy brands and a thought leader in the spa and wellness arena, with its products sold in 50 countries and luxury spas/hotels.

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Aromatherapy Associates has already changed its way of working with a range of initiatives. These include new well-being schemes for staff, implementing measures to ensure diversity across its business, changing its London headquarters to run on 100% renewable energy, employees undertaking voluntary work with the company’s community partners, and measuring and improving the social and environmental performance of its top tier suppliers over time.

It is also putting in place gender and ethnicity pay gap monitoring, a pledge to be carbon neutral and for all plastic packaging to be 100% recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2023. All its Tier 1 suppliers will be screened, assessed, and verified for their environmental, social, and governance practices with the aim of setting new standards for the luxury personal care sector.

Aromatherapy Associates CEO Anna Teal. [Photo by Fiona Hanson]

Aromatherapy Associates CEO Anna Teal shares a personal note explaining why the company became an ethical B Corporation:

All businesses need to accept the reality that shareholders can no longer benefit from human exploitation or environmental degradation. Capitalism is at a tipping point—it is no longer just about being the best in the world—it’s about doing what is best for the world.

Research recently published revealed that 76% of people believe capitalism isn’t working well or is harmful to the UK economy and 72% want businesses to be legally obliged to adhere to high sustainability and people standards.

Consumers vote with their feet and support brands that walk the walk not just talk the talk. As leaders we have to consider what positive impact ourdecisions makes, not just on profit, but also on our people and the planet. That is why Aromatherapy Associates has just become a B Corporation—a company that believes in a triple bottom line, not just profits, but people and the planet are taken into the decision making process with equal importance too.

Some of the world’s most dynamic companies—Patagonia, Ben and Jerry’s, and The Body Shop are making this shift—indeed research by the Office of National Statistics showed that the average year on year growth rate of UK B Corps that had re-certified in 2018 was 14%, 28 times higher than the national economic growth of 0.5%. This is a win-win. It is exciting that it is possible to do the right thing and reap the business benefits.

Becoming a B Corporation was an obvious move for Aromatherapy Associates because we have always been ahead of our time. Our founder, Geraldine Howard, started the business blending oils on her kitchen table in Fulham in 1985. She was an early pioneer in well-being, exploring the benefits of essential oils to help those stuck in an ‘always-on,’ hyper busy culture. Back in the 1980s, her clientele included American actress Ava Gardner and other show business figures who relied on her aromatherapy pick-me-ups to help them get through their packed schedules. Princess Diana was an early fan of the brand, realising its health-enhancing benefits and used our Revive Evening Bath & Shower Oil.

Aromatherapy Associates was founded to make the world a better place by bringing the properties of essential oils to the wider public. Today our products are found in many of the top spa hotels around the globe and in 50 countries. Our customers swear by oil blends including those for Inner Strength and particularly popular during the COVID-19 pandemic, Support Breathe.

The purpose embedded in the business by our founder inspired us to take the step to become a B Corporation certified business. B Corp certification is fast becoming the ‘kite mark’ for sustainable business and it is by no means a walk in the park! In fact, it is a hard club to join. Businesses need to meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose to get certification. We are really proud to say we are now a B Corp.

I’ve been asked whether this is just window dressing—it most certainly is not. Being a B Corporation has meant taking a hard look at our own diversity, reaching out to our customers across the globe to work out how we can be more reactive and effective in individual markets, particularly when it comes to com- munication. We have instituted staff happiness surveys and a company-wide training and development program. We support Defence Against Cancer Foundation based in the Netherlands as they undertake valuable research into immunotherapy, a cancer treatment which uses the body’s own immune system to fight the disease, an area that our founder was passionate about.

In order to spread the word, we are also encouraging our suppliers to become B Corporations themselves so we can guarantee the highest standards of ethics throughout our supply chain.

As a member of the British Beauty Council, I know that my industry has a long way to go; too many beauty products are still not recyclable or sustainable. All of our Aromatherapy Associates products now come in recyclable packaging and I am pushing for this along with clearer frameworks for making sustainability claims across the wider sector.

A new generation of consumers want brands to enact the values they preach authentically, in their products, their practices, and how they define profit. Aromatherapy Associates has always been ahead of its time. In the 1980s, our founder began mixing oils to treat people’s wellbeing needs such as anxiety and insomnia—this was well before these conditions were openly talked about. No one dreamt the business would become so mainstream but it has and continues to gain new customers year on year around the world.

72% of consumers now think businesses should have a legal obligation to protect people and the environment, we agree, which is why we’ve become a B Corp. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us we are all interconnected—we cannot ignore the impacts our businesses have on the wider world. B Corporations are trying to use business as a force for good—if ever that force needed harnessing it is now.

Anna Teal, CEO

Aromatherapy Associates is a leading aromatherapy brand and thought leader in the spa and wellness arena that is sold across 50 countries in luxury retailers, spas and hotels.

As the world starts to recover from the pandemic, businesses around the world are looking to rebuild in a way that puts their people first and protects the communities and the environment on which they rely. The potential upside of being driven by a wider mission—rather than solely trying to maximize shareholder profit—is something companies are waking up to.

For more information and to purchase Aromatherapy Associates products, visit aromatherapyassociates.com and follow on Instagram: @aromatherapyassociates

[Product images courtesy of Aromatherapy Associates]

Kamala Kirk is a University of Southern California graduate and has been an editor/writer for more than a decade. She has written for E! Online, Total Beauty, TravelAge West, Malibu Times Magazine, and many more. She resides in Los Angeles and is a proud pug mom. Follow her on Instagram: @kamalakirk