Meet our very first Community Fair Trade supplier: Teddy Exports

DID YOU KNOW ?

Our very first Community Fair Trade supplier was Teddy Exports in South India - where many of our wooden accessories, totes and jute packaging are made.

It all began when Amanda Murphy, who founded Teddy Exports in India, turned up at The Body Shop office in Britain and refused to leave until Dame Anita Roddick took a look at the little rolling wooden massagers she was selling under her fledgling company. Today, The Body Shop remains Teddy Exports’ largest customer, importing over 2.3 million accessories annually.

Teddy Exports began in 1987 as a five-employee company operating out of a mud hut in Tirumangalam, a small village in south India, producing goods made from locally sourced Acacia nilotica wood. It has since grown into a major exporter, employing over 650 people.

The community has also benefited with over 700 children having been put through school through a communal fund; including 50 children with learning disabilities who have a special day care centre just for them. It's the only school in Tamil Nadu to integrate children with special needs into mainstream education.

#FunFactFriday

❤️ xoxo,

Jackie & Barb

Shop with us: https://www.thebodyshopathome-usa.com/Crazylikeadaisy