Cotopaxi
- B Corps are for-profit businesses that volunteer to be graded by the nonprofit B Lab each year to ensure they're meeting the highest standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability.
- They're among the most impressive companies treating "good business" as an idea that includes both profit and purpose.
- To B Corps, sustainable business isn't charity, it's better business.
- Below, I've rounded up a few of the B Corps we love shopping at most, including Patagonia, Allbirds, and Eileen Fisher.
As history can attest, well-meaning government and nonprofits aren't enough on their own to fix every issue in society. And even with a little more time, it's unlikely they'll reveal themselves to be the silver bullets that single-handedly eradicate poverty, inequality, and infuse the workplace with jobs that make workers feel their lives have dignity and purpose.
For that caliber of change, we'll need to consider the importance of businesses. The economist Milton Friedman famously wrote in 1962 that "There is one and only one social responsibility of business...to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits." While that sentiment remains largely unchanged, there are companies willing to bet on a different conceptualization of "good business."
Perhaps most impressive of this group are B Corps - businesses that volunteer to be graded by the nonprofit B Lab each year to ensure they're meeting the highest standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.
Companies that get awarded B Corp status have committed to using their business to work towards a more inclusive and sustainable economy. Together, the companies and their communities work to reduce inequality, lower poverty levels, and create a healthier environment, stronger communities, and jobs with purpose.
In short, B Corps leverage their resources to pay into a better world, creating a definition of success that includes commonwealth and positive impact as necessary aspects of sustainable consumerism. It's not charity, it's better business - and these companies and providing an example that moves the needle on "better practices" further from extra credit and closer to universal compliance.
Below, we've rounded up 14 companies we love to shop at that also happen to be certified B Corps. They make great stuff we love to buy, but they're also helping drive a global movement that uses business as a force for good.
Check out 14 brands we love to shop from that also happen to be B-Corps:
Subscribe to our newsletter.
Find all the best offers at our Coupons page.
Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the Insider Picks team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. We frequently receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising sales team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at insiderpicks@businessinsider.com.