🌍 The truth about B Corps 🔎
Plus 'that' baked feta pasta recipe, a countryside lit fest and mushrooms that sing
You may or may not have heard… but there’s been a bit of a brouhaha about B Corps lately.
‘Intriguing,’ you might think.
‘What’s a B Corp?’ more may wonder. And there’s no shame in that. According to a recent Guardian poll, only seven per cent of people agree they know much about them. You probably, like 60 per cent of folk, see them around but aren’t really sure what they are. So, to sum them up in a sentence: they’re businesses that have “achieved a set of performance and legal requirements proving they’re committed to high standards of social and environmental performance”.
Who sets this criteria? That would be the non-profit global org, B Lab.
And what do all the B’s stand for? ‘Benefit for all’ (great pub quiz question).
Right now it’s B Corp month, which means B Corps everywhere, including the 2,400 in the UK that employ about 150,000 people, are organising collaborative events that we whole-heartedly support – like this snacks ’n’ chats night in Manchester on Wednesday, hosted by low-impact materials masters, Surface Matter.
What’s this about a brouhaha then? Why are (incidentally, very cool-looking) groups like ‘community garden’ Protein organising forums to discuss whether B Corps are ‘worth it’? And why do some brands go for similar-but-different accreditations from the likes of Provenance (specialists in beauty) and Good on You (experts in fashion) instead?
This piece from No Kill Mag, including an interview with LAUDE the Label founder Carly on why her fashion brand is letting go of its B Corp stamp, offers the more disillusioned side of the story. Another business owner sets out the case against in this now-viral LinkedIn post from a couple of weeks ago. “B Corp was meant to stand for businesses that put purpose over profit,” she writes. “But as we’ve watched its membership grow, we’ve seen companies with questionable ethics gain certification, diluting what the certification represents.” They’ve chosen to donate the £8,500 B Corp recertification fee to Save the Children instead. “Too expensive, too time-consuming,” says another founder. “I'd rather put my energy into real impact.”
The comment sections below each post are currently ablaze with both B Corpers and non-B Corpers alike, piling in to strongly agree or strongly (but respectfully) not. The fact that evolved, higher standards, created following lots of patient listening and calls for feedback from B Lab themselves, are about to drop is being repeatedly flagged. As is the fact that, as stated in the same Guardian article containing the poll (and more on that article below): “While B Corps don’t claim to be perfect businesses, the B Corp logo signifies a business is committed to continuous improvement in how it measures and improves its impact across a range of areas.”
In other words – and we at BRiMM concur: do we think there could be some improvements made to the B Corp system in general? Yes, and they agree with that, too – hence the upcoming update. But is it better that it exists, as a movement? Absolutely. And we agree, it’s better to bring in those formerly misbehaving big brands that want to do better – especially since a pivot from a couple of those would have far more real planetary impact than the (yes, probably more authentic) pledges of a sea of smaller startups.
So, today we’re bringing you a handful of the B Corps we dig, from Cornish conscious waterwear label Finisterre seen above, to the food people at Plants, to the makers of seriously luxe travel experiences – with zero brouhaha, guaranteed – at The Thinking Traveller.
We’d love to know what your favourite B Corps are. And, importantly, whether you think BRiMM should get certified as a B Corp. Drop us a line with your thoughts, anytime.
Team up, tune in and let’s turn the tide,
Team BRiMM
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The BRiMM life questionnaire: UpCircle
Anna and Will Brightman, both siblings and cofounders of UpCircle beauty, the brand with a circular economy at the heart of everything it does, share their low-impact life reccos
Song that lights you up and the story behind it
Anna: ‘Remedy’ by Synthetic Epiphany. My partner is a producer. A while back I sent him a voicenote when I was having a particularly stressful day at work, saying “Do you want to know what’s happened today? Take a guess…”. He used the clip in this song, turning my moment of stress into a dance banger – now it makes me chuckle every time I hear it!
Second-hand store worth a mooch
Will: I think Brighton has some of the best in the UK – and they’re a LOT less expensive than most of those we have here in London. Particularly for furniture and homewares.
Most beautiful cycle journey
Both: We both love Knole deer park in Kent.
Watch out for the rest of their answers will be on our site, launching soon
Fancy doing our BRiMM Life Questionnaire yourself? Get in touch
FROM THE COLLECTIVE
Dan is admiring the smart design inside these new French high-speed trains
Charlotte discovered Mushroom Church Europe, gigs featuring ‘live mushrooms’ – yes – with dates across Europe in May
Sam’s pumped by the news that the UK’s organic market grew more than 7 per cent last year
We love to hear what our collective is finding. Share your links with Becky
This article from The Guardian – “the only major media organisation certified B Corp”– may be paid-for content by B Lab UK, the charity that certifies B Corps, but it does a great job of setting the scene for the global non-profit network: explaining its noughties origins as an idea between three college friends in the States, how it’s grown since and highlighting 11 cool examples, including BRiMM buds Ticket Tailor, a disruptive, affordable events platform (loving the spy-thriller-riffing name).
“When I launched my Rule of 5,” explains low-impact style changemaker and BRiMM founding member and contributor Tiffany Darke, referencing her campaign to encourage us all to buy no more than five new fashion items a year, “the first item I bought after two long months of research and trying on lots was a white shirt from With Nothing Underneath, a small independent B Corp shirtmaker founded by Pip Durell. It was the perfect cut, material and style and I’m still wearing it two years on. Remarkably, I haven’t stained it.”
→ SEE MORE
Just recently, Plants, a food brand launched in 2023 by Ella and Matthew Mills, founders of Deliciously Ella, merged with allplants, the makers of hugely popular frozen ready meals. Together they’re forming a B Corp powerhouse “community for recipes from the UK’s best-selling plant-based authors, exciting brand news and exclusive supper clubs”. We’re hungrily watching their Insta for more updates, too. And for dozens more B Corp goods you can order online, scroll this mega handy list from Nourished Communities.
The last word in stunning villas to rent across the Med, fashion-set fave The Thinking Traveller is also a B Corp – and therefore a wonderful, more planet-positive choice for your next soul-soothing, sun-drenched escape. And for a great collective of B Corps in the travel space, check out travelbybcorp.com.
This 45-minute baked feta pasta dish went viral on TikTok last year. You miss it too? It’ll still taste great in 2025 so grab a dish, a garlic smasher and embrace being a late-adopter.
MUSIC FOR SUMMONING SPRING
Shiraz, our king gig-goer, is back with fresh, flowery beats to get you feeling all new and improved for the onset of this year’s lighter, brighter good times.
What’s BRiMM again?
We’re building a shop, journal and collective to prove that living within limits isn’t living less – and to put the profit to work for the planet.
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CARBON MATHS
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