If you're looking make more sustainable beauty product purchases [1], there can be a huge amount to consider, one of which being a brand's certifications. However, there are so many different certifications out there — Eco Cert, vegan, Soil Association, carbon-neutral, to name a few — and while these various certifications are obviously great steps forward for the beauty industry, none of them fully encompass what it means to be a truly sustainable and ethical business in all its many complexities. And, honestly, it can get a little confusing (not to mention time-consuming) to read up on each specific certification.
But there's one certification out there hoping to cut the crap and get straight down to business. Think of as the crème de la crème of sustainable beauty certifications, if you will, and that's the B Corporation certification [2]. There are currently over 3,000 companies spanning 150 industries and 70 countries which are B Corp certified, and it's an incredibly tough accreditation to gain.
What Is a B Corp Certification?
At the heart, B Corp businesses balance purpose with profit. For a business to become B Corp certified it must meet the "highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose." The B Corp certification is an initiative created by B Lab, a global nonprofit started by three people who left their careers in business and private equity to make it easier for mission-driven companies to have a positive impact (which is continually improved upon overtime) on people and the planet. The ultimate aim of B Lab is to use the power of business to address social and environmental issues.
And it's no easy feat to become certified. Businesses wishing to gain the certification are actually legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment. "Certified B Corporations are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on all their stakeholders," the website states [3], adding that "B Corps make this legal change by updating their Articles of Association, reincorporating as benefit companies, or making other structural changes."
What Are the Requirements to Become a B Corp Brand?
The assessment process of becoming a B Corp business measures the company's performance in five key categories: governance, workers, customers, community, and the environment. To gain certification, an exam is required, but this is way more involved than your typical multiple-choice test. "The exam itself includes 4,000 questions regarding how you operate your business," explains Christoper Davis, head of sustainability at The Body Shop, a brand that has applied for, and gained, B Corp certification. "[The Body Shop] submitted 3,000 pieces of evidence for assessment." To achieve the certification, businesses are required to score a minimum of 80 points spanning across each of these categories. But obviously, the higher the better across the board.
Gaining a B Corp certification isn't a one time thing, though. It's arguably harder to keep the accreditation than to gain it. "To keep hold of the certification, you must re-certify with B Corp every 3 years, improving your score each time you take the exam (which makes it harder every time). If you fail to do this, you lose your B Corp status," explains Davis.
Read on to see which beauty and wellness brands have gained B Corp status and are committed to being a business with a purpose, not just a profit.
Dr. Bronner's
Not only is Dr. Bronner's [4] a certified B Corp, but it's also been ranked in the top 10 percent of certified corporations across all impact areas. The family soapmaker brand earned the certification due to initiatives such as regenerative organic agriculture, which involves educating their farming partners in the implementation of carbon dioxide removal farming practices. Dr. Bronner's also sources its raw materials from fair-trade projects around the world, including Ghana (palm oil), Palestine and Israel (olive oil), and Sri Lanka (coconut oil).
Despite being founded in 1858, Dr. Bronner's made it onto the B Corp 2019 "Change Makers" list [5], in recognition of the significant improvement to their overall impact on workers, customers, communities, the environment, and much more. Earning the title of "change maker" means a brand is setting a gold standard for managing and improving their business' social and environmental impact over time. One of these actions includes capping the total compensation of the highest-paid employees and executives at five times that of the lowest-paid position.
Key B Corp Highlights for Dr. Bronner's:
- 100 percent recyclable packaging
- 100 percent biodegradable
- 33 percent of all profits go to social and ecological projects
The Body Shop
Since being founded in 1976, The Body Shop [6] has strived to be a business that is a force for good and not just profit. The establishment of ethical and sustainable global initiatives has been the heart of the company.
Just some of the initiatives that helped The Body Shop gain the certification include, Community Fair Trade, Forever Against Animal Testing, re-introduction of the recycle-and-refill scheme, [7] as well as offering volunteer days for employees outside of the business.
Christopher Davis, head of sustainability at The Body Shop, also told POPSUGAR that in order to become certified it had to change how the company is registered in the eyes of the government. The brand changed its legal status and to a Triple Bottom Line (social, environmental, financial) business, which "officially commits the business to the promise that you'll share your benefits not just with shareholders, but also for the good of people and planet". He adds: "If [The Body Shop] can't prove we are operating in this way, we would be challenged by the authorities."
Key B Corp Highlights for The Body Shop:
-
The Body Shop's goal is to become is a regenerative business with no negative impact and net zero emissions.
- The biggest B Corp certified company with a female founder
Amika
Brooklyn-based hair-care brand, amika [8], just received its B-Corp status with an industry-leading score of 99.2. Created by a collective of creatives, hairstylists, and chemists, the brand is on a mission to be a friend to hair, hairstylists, the planet, and communities worldwide.
"We've transformed amika in a matter of a few years, from the beginning of our CSR journey in 2018 to achieving one of the greatest validations of becoming a certified B Corp brand," said Chelsea Riggs, amika's brand president.
The certification comes after amika received the Climate Neutral certification in 2022. The brand achieved this by measuring its greenhouse gas emissions, purchasing eligible verified carbon credits to offset that footprint, and implementing plans to reduce emissions in its pledge to be Net Zero by 2030.
"While often associated with sustainability, B Corp certification goes beyond that and measures our ethics and morals to our workers, community, customers, and higher governance structure. So many of B Corp's principles were already in practice at amika, and the certification acts as the seal of approval that we are in fact a friend to her, him, them, and the planet," Jamie Richards, CSR and sustainability lead shared.
UpCircle Beauty
Every product in UpCircle Beauty [9]'s range is made using by-products from other industries, with a particular focus on the food and drink sector. Inspired by upcycling, UpCircle believe in making something better from things that already exist.
Upon receiving the B-Corp certification, UpCircle co-founder Anna Brightman, shared a message saying "I cannot express how incredible it is to officially be B Corp certified! Knowing that the median score for ordinary businesses is 50.9 and that we achieved 96.3 gives weight to our words when we promise that UpCircle is a brand that puts the planet first."
Key B Corp Highlights for UpCircle Beauty:
- UpCircle achieved a verified score of 96.3 points, putting UpCircle among some of the highest-scoring beauty brands globally
- All of the packaging is recyclable
- The brand is entirely vegan and cruelty-free with no animal testing occurring by any of the suppliers
Dame
Sustainable period products brand, Dame [10], is paving the way for small emerging brands setting foundations for an ethical future.
The B Corp certification is confirmation of Dame's founding belief, "that to make a lasting and effective positive impact on a global scale, we need to harness the power of business. Tackling social and environmental issues should not be a choice for business, it's a must," says Celia Pool, Dame's co-founder.
Dame's company pillars highlight how they are pushing for change: They are "rethinking resources," and focusing on reducing and reusing materials by creating the brand's (and the world's) first reusable tampon applicator. They are "supporting women's health and wellbeing", which they do not only through ensuring the tampons are made from 100 percent cotton, but also by helping to end period poverty, which unfortunately is still quite prevalent in the UK. And lastly, after learning only 22 percent of the UK's designers and 11 percent of engineers are female, Dame continues to strive for gender parity not just within the company, but its suppliers, too.
Key B Corp Highlights for Dame:
- Uses 100 percent organic certified cotton
- Aims to eliminate 15 percent of the 1.3 billion tampon applicators that end up in landfill or in oceans by 2022
- Lobbied the government and donated products to Rethink Periods [11]
Ethique
Ethique [12] is a climate-neutral company using 100 percent vegan- and sustainably-sourced ingredients. Beauty bars are their specialty with the aim of convincing people to "give up the bottle", and instead grab a shampoo or exfoliating bar. To date, the the brand has prevented over six million plastic bottle from being made and disposed.
Ethique operates honest trading by ensuring stable prices and decent working conditions for farmers and workers around the world. In addition to this, the business is totally climate-neutral and operates entirely plastic-free.
Key B Corp Highlights for Ethique:
- New Zealand's highest scoring B Corp business
- Aims to read 50 million plastic bottles being prevented by 2025
- Vegan ingredients
- Compostable packaging
Beauty Kitchen
Back in 2017, Beauty Kitchen [13] became the first beauty brand in the UK to gain a B Corp certification. Since then, the brand continues its mission of balancing profit and purpose by using sustainably-sourced ingredients from within the UK, which reduces the business's carbon footprint and also creates jobs within local communities.
The brand continues to give back to the community with its "Beauty That Gives Back" scheme, which donates 2 percent of every sale to sustainable charity partners. In addition to this, the brand has a return, refill, repeat scheme, which enables customers to send their empty products back to be washed and reused in the next batch— a practice that's even more sustainable than recycling.
Key B Corp Highlights for Beauty Kitchen:
- First B Corp beauty brand in the UK
- 100 percent natural ingredients
- Made in the UK
- Cruelty-free
Typology
We like to think of Typology [14] as The Ordinary's stylish French cousin. The brands are totally separate but Typology follows a similar ethos: pared-back products with only essential ingredients housed in beautifully simplistic packaging. Seriously though, Typology is the most stylish brand in my bathroom cabinet. As the brand entered its second year, it was awarded its B Corp Certification. Typology is one of the first brands to achieve the status in France. "Typology was born from a mission: to demystify skincare with simple, straight-talking transparency," the brand stated.
"Typology is a company with a mission. Respectful of the environment, having a positive impact on society and supporting the client through informed communication. The whole team is proud of this milestone, which symbolises the real commitment of our brand," says founder Ning Li.
Sunday Riley
Sunday Riley [15] is known for its high-performance formulas powered by both science and its love of botanicals, which are housed in beautiful bottles that can sit proudly on your vanity. But there's something else major to celebrate about the brand: its new B Corp status. In December 2020, the beauty brand became officially certified, something that took two years. "B Corp is a leader in corporate responsibility, sustainability, and brand ethics," said brand founder, Sunday Riley about the certification. "Partnering with B-Corp to make sure that our practices aligned with our values was a natural fit."
Key B Corp Highlights for The Body Shop:
- Packaging waste reduction: packaging redesign with the plan to have fully recyclable packaging by the end of 2021
- Energy efficiency: purchase carbon credits to offset freight and e-commerce shipments, as well as from manufacturing processes
- Supplier accountability: evaluate supplies on ethics and sustainability using the brand's Supplier Code of Conduct
- Social impact initiatives: the brand ensure continuation of contributions to organisations, including the NAACP and The Trevor Project
Aromatherapy Associates
The B Corp milestone is one that's hugely important to Aromatherapy Associates [16], a brand that prides itself on continually striving to do better for people and the planet through wellbeing. It has already implemented a number of processes to ensure improvement is being met and has a number of people, planet and community goals to work towards over the next few years.
Key B Corp Highlights for Aromatherapy Associates:
- 1.5 tonnes of virgin plastic removed from the brand's packaging
- 100 percent renewable energy headquarters
- Creating a diverse and inclusive team by giving employees diversity and inclusion training, implementing wellbeing schemes, and creating the Diversity and Inclusion Action Board.
- Employees are encouraged to take on charity work in the community
Aesop
Aesop [17] become B Corp certified at the end of 2020, stating that the status is part of the brand's journey to reducing its carbon footprint and its commitment to climate action. "We aim to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by no later than 2030."
Key B Corp Highlights for Aesop:
- The Aesop Foundation has committed more than $6 million AUD to local partners
- 20,000 hours of community volunteering completed by employees in 2019
- During the pandemic, Aesop donating approximately $3.4 million of products to support communities and medical staff.
Davines
Davines [18] became B Corp certified in 2016, and has committed to striving and achieving better ever since, continually improving its score with an impressive 117.4 in 2019. However, even with this achievement, the brand is aware that it's still part of the journey and not the final destination. "The B Corp recertification is not a destination, but another step forward in our journey to become a more sustainable business."
Key B Corp Highlights for Davines:
- 100 percent carbon neutral offices
- 0 percent of waste generated by the production plant is sent to dumping grounds
- Provides support to suppliers and customers in the journey towards a more sustainable way of doing business
Aurelia London — B-Corp Pending
Aurelia London [19] is an award-winning British brand that is currently in the process of becoming a B-Corp. Since launching in 2013, the brand has kept sustainability and social responsibility at its heart in all areas of sourcing and manufacturing. Earning B-corp status solidifies the importance of this for the brand and shows a huge commitment to improvement.
Key B Corp Highlights for Aurelia London:
- African botanical ingredients used are ethically sourced through a partnership with PhytoTrade
- All of the packaging is recyclable
- The brand is entirely cruelty-free with no animal testing occurring by any of the suppliers