Neal's Yard

website:

http://www.nealsyardremedies.com

Company details

What does it do?

Neal’s Yard produces and retails a wide range of organic skincare products and natural remedies. The brand extends to a variety of other businesses including an organic dairy food and artisan cheese making company, an organic bakery and a responsible travel agency.

How is it social?

Neal’s Yard’s commitment to social benefits is reflected in the products the business sells, through the actions the business has taken to be more sustainable and in the campaigns and causes it has supported. The company has worked with the Samaritans, No more Breast Cancer, Friends of the Earth, Women’s Environmental Network, Foresight and Traid to this end.

Neal’s Yard is the first nationwide high street retailer in the UK to be awarded the CarbonNeutral® brand mark. All ingredients in Neal’s Yard products are natural, organic and, where possible, sourced locally to minimise carbon emissions. The company’s factory in Dorset was designed and built to sustainable standards: it is highly insulated, renewable materials were used wherever possible, rainwater is collected and stored, and it is powered by a renewable energy provider. Packaging materials are sustainable and recyclable, where possible. Products are never tested on animals and are approved by BUAV, FRAME and PETA.

What is its business model?

Neal’s Yard owns a successful chain of cosmetic stores in the UK and has more recently opened stores in the USA and Japan. The company offers a wide selection of dried herbs and a range of homoeopathic remedies, essential oils and flower remedies. The skincare and cosmetics are made from organic herbs and essential oils and are not tested on animals. Neal's Yard also supplies many department stores and runs a webstore in order to meet international demand. The Neal’s Yard brand extends its influence through a number of affiliated businesses. These include:

Neal's Yard Dairy, Neal’s Yard Creamery, Neal’s Yard Bakery and Neal’s Yard Agency.

Its history

The first Neal’s Yard shop was founded by Romy Fraser in London’s Covent Garden in 1981. Romy was interested in alternative medicine and wanted to bring together all the varying natural remedies available into one shop. The recipes for the company’s natural and organic skincare products are based on the apothecary knowledge of the Worshipful Society, dating back to 1617.

To meet increasing demand, a small factory was opened in South London in 1985 and other shops in 1986. Since 2005 many herbs used in the products have been grown on the company’s own farm and in partnership with Sheepdrove Organic. To date there are 34 Neal’s Yard stores in the UK and 9 in Japan. The company also supplies several large department stores, including John Lewis.

Neal’s Yard was bought by Peter Kindersley, the present Chairman in 2006, who previously owned the publishing house Dorling Kindersley. Kindersley is working closely with Triodos Bank to help support Neal’s Yard’s domestic and international expansion plans.

More information

Current shareholders:	Peter Kindersley
Chair:	Peter Kindersley
Year of incorporation:	1981

Company snapshot

Company type:	Ltd
Address:	Peacemarsh, Gillingham, Dorset, GB, SP8 4EU
Telephone:	+44 (0)845 262 3145
Blog:
CEO:	Johnathan Hook
Industrial sector:	Retail (general)
Social / Environmental benefit:	Climate change; Pollution reduction; Healthy living; Animal rights and welfare; Animal rights and welfare;
Certifications:	Soil Association; Go Cruelty Free - Not tested on Animals; The Vegan Society – ‘Animal free’ standard;
Social business sector:	Ethical Consumerism;

Other companies in this sector

Bags of Change

Bags of Change retails reusable carrier bags which are sustainably and ethically produced- encouraging people not to use plastic bags that are otherwise sent to landfill. The company also awards customers through its loyalty scheme to receive discounts on local, sustainable, organic and fair trade goods at participating independent stores. Bags of Change sources its products from ethical materials including organic cotton, hemp and fairly-traded rubber from the Seringeros Indians of the Amazon rainforest.

Omerica Organic

Omerica Organic produces jewellery and accessories made from wood. They offset their tree usage by planting 700+ trees for each one used. All products are also produced using wind power.

Craft Village UK

Craft Village works directly with artisans in poor countries developing sustainable, copyright protected, animation inspired products. Their mission is to improve the working and living conditions of craftspeople and their families. 'The Simpsons' characters are carved out of soapstone and packaged in Kenya where they are then shipped to Europe and North America for sale.

Other companies within a 50 mile radius

Woodlands Park Dairy Ltd

Woodlands is a family-owned business producing award-winning yoghurts from flocks fed on a natural diet. Its range of sheep and goats' milk yoghurts offers an alternative to cow dairy products and is useful to those with cow dairy allergies and intolerances. It uses milk from a small number of organic local farms and is certified by the soil association.

Nature Travels

Nature Travels is the only company in the UK specialising solely in environmentally responsible outdoor and wildlife holidays in Sweden.Nature Travels believes strongly in the need to protect and enhance the places we travel to as well as the potential for responsible tourism to be a positive force in environmental and cultural conservation. Nature Travels also donates 2% of its pre-tax profits to small-scale conservation projects.

Ecohome Services

Eco Home Services is a home engineering firm specialising in a broad range of renewable energy heating systems, renewable energy consultancy and training in solar technology. Facing some of the largest ever increases in the cost of fuel bills and reducing fossil fuel consumption, Ecohome's mission is to bring the latest renewable technologies to the UK market place at affordable prices.

Bookmark this page with...

Google