Tributes pour in for Body Shop founder

Tributes have been pouring in for Body Shop founder Dame Anita Roddick who has died at the age of 64.Dame Anita suffered a major brain haemorrhage and died at St Richard's Hospital in Chichester.Her husband, Gordon, and daughters Sam and Justine were all with her.She was famous for the Body Shop but also gained international recognition for championing many causes closes to her heart, from green issues to human rights and Third World debt.In February this year, Dame Anita revealed she was carrying the hepatitis C virus.Charles Gore, chief executive of the Hepatitis C Trust, said after her diagnosis, Dame Anita quickly became a patron of the charity.He said: "Working with her was so joyful. The great thing about Anita was that she took all her causes incredibly seriously but she never took herself seriously, which made her really fun to be with."Adrian Bellamy, chairman of Body Shop International, said: "Anita leaves us with an enduring legacy which will long guide the affairs of The Body Shop. Our heartfelt condolences are with the Roddick family at this sad time."Emma Colyer, director of HIV and Aids charity Body & Soul, of which Dame Anita was a patron, said: "She was a great advocate for us, and for putting the issue of HIV on the agenda."Friends of the Earth director Tony Juniper said: "Anita was a leading light of the modern green movement, and was one the first people to combine a profitable business with environmental responsibility."She spent an enormous amount of energy not only in running a pioneering company but also devoted passion and creativity to helping green, human rights and development organisations achieve their aims.Brendan Cox, executive director of Crisis Action, a charity funded by Dame Anita, said: "Anita was an inspiration. She showed the scale of what you can achieve when you fight for it. Her energy, ambition and idealism will be an inspiration to thousands for years to come."Anita challenged social entrepreneurs to raise their game. Enough bring and buy sales, let's change the global economy. She showed that tinkering at the edges wasn't where we should stop, we should get involved, get our hands dirty and change the world trying."Dame Anita founded the Body Shop in 1976 "simply to create a livelihood for myself and my two daughters" as she put it.The company spiralled into a global phenomenon despite the fact that Anita came into the retail world completely raw - with no business background.Thirty years on, the firm is a multi-national business with over 2,000 stores serving over 77 million customers in 51 different countries.© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

ITN | September 11, 2007

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