The B Corp system certifies businesses that meet high standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.

It is recognised worldwide as a mark of responsible business, and we are overjoyed to join this global network of businesses, and one of thirteen in South Africa, working for a better world for all

B Corps are driven by a vision of a global economy that uses business as a force for good. They prioritise all stakeholders, including workers, customers, community, and the environment, alongside shareholders. Key principles include accountability, transparency, high social and environmental performance, and continuous improvement.

Our personal B Corp journey started years back when we started with the BIA (B Impact Assessment) for the very first time. On this occasion we did not achieve the required 80 points needed for certification and we took some very valuable learnings from this. Although we were doing the right things, we did not have strong tracking systems in place and as such could not verify some of our highest point scoring areas.

We left with learnings and decided that instead of trying to redo it immediately, we regrouped and implemented the required changes and mechanisms over two years. This allowed us to try again in a better position, and when we redid our BIA this time we had solid, documented structures in place that aligned with the requirements, ethos and recommendations of B Corp.

Even so, certification is not easy and as the fashion and gear industry is often associated with potentially harmful industries we had to go above and beyond with our disclosures to ensure we had proven that we were acting responsibly beyond all doubt. This is important and gave us confidence in the certification and team at B Lab Africa - after all, things really worth doing are rarely easy.