Have you ever heard about B Corp B Fashion?

In an era in which consumers are becoming increasingly aware, and climate change requires a rapid turnaround, fashion brands are called upon not only to commit to fostering change but to demonstrate their commitment to making it happen.

A solution seems to be the B Corps, but how to become one? In this article, we tell you why and how The ID Factory obtained the B Corp certification and what your brand has to do to become a B Corp too.

What we will talk about in the article:

1. What is a B Corp and what does it mean to be a B Corp?
2. The ID Factory and B Corp certification
3. Why is it important to become a B Corp?
4. What is B Corp B Fashion?

In the post COP 26 era, of the change of behavior that does not go hand in hand with climate change, and of increasingly aware consumers, the challenge of a fashion brand is no longer sustainability.

It is to prove its commitment and its behavior.

The only way to fight the wave of greenwashing is to demonstrate to your consumers that not only a socially required system of values ​​is married, but that policies, that respect the environment, animals, and own workers, are also being implemented.

In short, we have to be sustainable in words, but above all in facts.

The first necessary step is to become aware that only what is measurable, objective, and verified through data is taken into consideration by your audience.

Slogans are no longer enough for customers: they demand concrete commitments.

What solution to adopt to solve the problem and meet the demands of consumers?

Becoming a B Corp.

What is a B Corp and what does it mean to be a B Corp?

A B Corp is a company that aims to spread a more advanced business paradigm. A B Corp voluntarily and formally chooses to produce social and environmental benefits at the same time, while achieving its economic results.

The substantial difference between a B Corp and a Benefit Company is that the former has no legal value, even if the legal status of Benefit Corporation has been approved in 35 American countries and Italy, the first state in the world to approve the legal form of Benefit company.

What’s the benefit, then? Let’s talk about performances: while a Benefit Company self-declares its behavior and how it is committed to the environment, for the B Corp it is the US non-profit institution B Lab that measures performance.

B Lab provides a certification attesting to the status of B Corp, which can be renewed every two years.

To obtain certification, which is achieved only if a minimum score of 80/200 is reached, the company must respond to the B Impact Assessment, a survey to analyze its environmental and social performance, and integrate its commitment towards stakeholders and the communities in which it operates.

Becoming a B Corp, therefore, means meeting the highest standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal responsibility.

The ID Factory and B Corp certification

Obtaining the certification does not mean that the job is finished, quite the contrary: it’s now that the climbing of the mountain begins.

Since June 2021 The ID Factory, which is already a Benefit Company, is also certified B Corp with a score of 100.1 / 200.

In Italy, there are just over 120 B Corp certified companies and about 4,000 worldwide, distributed all over 75 countries.

Being a B Corp means rewriting the way of doing business: business becomes a positive force aimed to create value for everyone.

In addition to pursuing profit, we continually innovate to maximize our positive impact on employees, the communities in which we operate, the environment, and all stakeholders.

As B Corp, we believe in responsibility, transparency, inclusion, and regeneration. Inspiring, innovating, and rewriting the rules are the values ​​that move us every day in our work.

Why is it important to become a B Corp?

Why did we decide to take the path to become B Corp?

One of the phrases that guide us in our work is “you can only improve what you can measure.”

In other words: if you aren’t aware of what’s going on along your supply chain, if you don’t collect data, if you don’t start from what is measurable, you can’t make real change.

Only what is objective puts you in a position of control. Without numbers, it is not you who leads your company, but vice versa.

One year ago we stopped, and we asked ourselves if we could take a step further. The answer was yes and, therefore, we had no excuses.

Seven months after obtaining the certification we know that the road is still long, but that the direction is the right one.

When the subtraction is your true wealth, it changes the way you see the world, the business, and what is around you.

Verbs such as decrease, resize, optimize translate into amplifying, multiply, implement.

At this point, you may be wondering: are renowned fashion brands, such as Aveda or Brunello Cucinelli, already responsible from a social and environmental point of view, without being B Corp?

Those companies are proof that a business can be economically profitable and at the same time have a social mission.

However, in moments of crisis, social and environmental values ​​risk being set aside if they have not been integrated into the company’s constituent documents.

Being B Corp offers entrepreneurs, owners, and investors the guarantee that the social and environmental values ​​of the company will remain on the same level as the pursuit of profit, whatever happens.

For this reason, some companies first became B Corp Certificated and later Benefit Corporation. An example above all is Patagonia.

What is B Corp B Fashion?

At this point, we understand that:

• Only what is measured can be implemented and improved
• Being B Corp does not only mean pursuing business objectives, but being concretely responsible, both towards the environment and consumers
• To become a B Corp it is necessary to receive certification following the completion of an assessment by the B Lab body and the achievement of a score of at least 80/200, which is not at all easy.

What if you want to become a B Corp but don’t know where to start?

As a Benefit Company and B Corp, but even more, as a reality that believes in doing everything in its power to make change tangible and real, we have decided to help all the fashion brands that wish to become B Corp to succeed.

How? We created B Corp B Fashion, the first fashion community within the B Corp ecosystem.

We aim to create one place where you can share best practices, ideas and learn every day from the best B Corps worldwide.

Inside B Corp B Fashion, you can find:

• Weekly interviews with managers and professionals from best B Corps, such as Mud Jeans International, Rifò, and Save The Duck
• updates and case studies from leading fashion brands committed to sustainability
• insights about the importance of supply chain traceability for the transition to a regenerative business
• Q&A and surveys to share your opinion.

We believe that the B-Corp certification is the beginning of a journey towards sustainability and the best way to have a real impact is to collaborate towards a common goal.

If you want to be part of our B Corp movement and unlock the change together with us, click here and enjoy our community.