Body Shop ditches Daily Mail advertising as Stop Funding Hate campaign gathers pace

The Body Shop has become the latest retailer to announce its intention not to advertise with the Daily Mail, following pressure from campaign group Stop Funding Hate. The news comes within seven days of internet service provider Plusnet announcing it would pull advertisements from The Sun.

The Body Shop ran a campaign with the Daily Mail in December, prompting the Stop Funding Hate campaign to contact the chain about its ethical code, which says it will not advertise with media that incites hatred. The brand responded that it did not have any further plans to advertise with the newspaper.

A spokesperson for The Body Shop told the Huffington Post: "When an editorial stance seems to go against that Commitment, we consider seriously whether we will support it."

The move was welcomed by Stop Funding Hate co-founder Rosey Ellum, who told IBTimes UK: "We're really pleased with The Body Shop taking a stance, and we urge others such as John Lewis and Marks and Spencer to do the same."

Stop Funding Hate has repeatedly called on retail brand John Lewis to cease advertising partnerships with The Daily Mail, and it was revealed by IBTimes in November that the company had come under significant internal pressure from its partners.

However, the campaign has had some success since then with toy company Lego announcing in November it was not planning any future activity with The Daily Mail, as well Plusnet, which said last week it had pulled adverts with The Sun after they appeared next to a story deemed by some of its customers as anti-Islamic in sentiment. According to the campaign organisation, the Co-op are currently reviewing their policy.

Ellum said: "[The campaign has] galvanised people because they see it as a way to change a problem they've known about for a long time, and see it as a way to do something positive."

In light of that, the organisation last week launched a crowdfunding campaign to help them formalise their structure, and increase their level of activity by taking on paid staff. Though currently dependent on volunteers, Ellum said she hoped the crowdfunder would help them take the campaign to "the next level".

The total amount raised by the organisation had hit almost £19,000 ($23,600) of the £50,000 it had aimed for, as of Saturday morning. The full amount would be used to fund running costs including two part-time members of staff and a string of video campaigns.