Sunday, December 16, 2007

Wake-up call on effects of global warming


CLIMATE change has been on The Body Shop's agenda since the early 1990s. It ran a campaign on acid rain in 1992/93.

For its latest campaign, The Body Shop Malaysia collaborated with Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) to send out an important message about global warming.


With the help of advertising agency Grey Worldwide Sdn Bhd, The Body Shop produced five picture-perfect postcards highlighting the imminent effects of global warming on popular holiday destinations, flora and fauna, and traditional communities that were familiar to everyone.

The postcards depict images of the island paradise of Maldives, polar bears of the Artic, islanders of Kiribati, dive spots of Pulau Redang and the livelihood of fishermen along the coastline of Terengganu.

It aimed to give the public a wake-up call that these popular and priceless sights may disappear forever due to global warming.

Grey also designed limited edition T-shirts as part of the campaign.

Rampai Niaga Sdn Bhd managing director Datin Mina Cheah-Foong said MNS shared information on global warming, Grey gave creative input and The Body Shop poured in financial resources.

“The campaign will run for the whole of December. We are targeting consumers visiting our outlets.

“We try to bring it down to consumers that climate change is such a huge problem that no one can handle it alone.

“Corporations have a bigger responsibility mainly because they are the biggest polluters.

“As a retailer, we have responsibility too but we also need customers' support,” she said, adding that by getting consumers to change, they would be able to effect change on other retailers.

For example, Foong said retailers should put aside competition when it came to issues such as phasing out the use of plastic bags.

“Consumers have the power to change but they do not realise it. Therefore, we have to get through to the consumers,” she added.

The Body Shop's projects for the environment are inter-related. Foong said the company would continue with efforts to get Temenggor forest gazetted as a state park next year. Some 117,500ha of the total 300,000ha of the Belum-Temenggor forest reserve were gazetted in May.

The preservation of rainforest is also linked to global warming.

Foong added that global warming was a threat to reefs and The Body Shop would continue on a project to preserve reefs.

Source: The Star Online

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