B Corp: A Simple, But Impactful Symbol

You might look at the back of our order forms and notice a 'B' with a circle around it. What does it mean? Why are we proud of it? What hoops did we have to jump through just to get that little logo? That simple, but impactful symbol represents a company's commitment to environmental and social responsibility. B Lab, the global nonprofit behind certified B Corporations, works with all types of businesses to aid them in making their workplace, products, and communities more sustainable. I think when we hear the words “sustainable practices,” people mostly think of the environment, but really, we need to look at a societal impact too.

The Importance of the B

There are around 3,000 certified B Corps in the US, and that number is expanding every year. In today's day and age, sustainability is on the forefront of many people’s minds. Customers are looking to purchase from a business that they can feel good about, and businesses are getting that message! Knowing that sustainability is becoming increasingly important to shoppers, some businesses have unfortunately started using marketing tactics that portray their company and product as more environmentally friendly than they actually are—also known as “greenwashing.” This is precisely why that small logo is important. Looking for that B with a circle around it helps identify companies who have a proven, measurable commitment to the planet and the people on it, not just those who claim to.

Being a B Corp

So, what does this mean for a little shoe company? With the help of B Lab's guidelines, we've been able to ask questions about how we can holistically improve our business for the betterment of not just our company, but the community we live in, customers we sell to, and the partners we buy from. When we first became B Corp certified in 2023, we received a score identifying areas that we were doing well and areas for improvement.

This year, our B Corp certification is up for renewal, as every company must recertify every three years. As we gear up for our recertification, I’ve been reviewing our past assessment with the knowledge that each time we reapply we need to do better than the last certification. With this in mind, Softstar cannot simply glide by; we need to look at our past B Corp score and see where we can raise it just a little more.

During our first assessment, we found that we just didn't have answers to some of the questions, including:

• How many pounds of waste do we produce each year?
• What is Softstar's carbon footprint?
• How many miles, on average, do employees typically commute in a year by car, bus, or train?
• How much water, electricity, and gas do we use in a year?
• How many of our vendors are owned by women?
• What percentage of our significant suppliers are located in low-income communities?
• What percentage of our supplies have a third-party social or environmental certification?

While these questions seem easy to answer at first glace, they're actually a bit more complex, especially calculating our carbon footprint. For example, we may be able to calculate how many miles employees travel to and from work by car, bus, or train, but we also have a number of employees that bike or carpool—how often are they doing that? I had to stop my brain from going down the wormhole of thinking about the weather for the past year! Maybe people biked less because of that two week-long cold snap we had. How about that several year-long road construction project that took up all of the bike lanes (I’m not bitter!) on one of the main routes to work?

Next Steps

I have been working hard to gather answers to as many of those unanswered questions as possible, as well as getting ready to report all of the other great improvements we have made over the past few years. We are a dynamic company, and things are always changing, meaning my evaluations are not a one-and-done deal. For example, we're constantly expanding and changing our material options, so it can be hard to keep up with the most accurate vendor reporting! We love our suppliers and have been very careful about who we choose to purchase from. I’m happy to report that, in looking at just our leather, we are close to 100% of our vendors having third-party certificates. I would love to give you a firm number, but did I mention we keep changing up our offerings? 😊

One area that I am particularly excited to answer for our next recertification is regarding the ownership of Softstar and the benefits we will receive. I will be so proud to enter that we are employee-owned now! I like to think that the B Corp organization will be so happy for us, but they’re pretty big, so I kind of doubt they’ll notice. A girl can dream, right?!

On a side note, if anyone has a great idea for what we can do with very small scraps of leather (think stringy, short pieces), we would love to hear from you! We currently put these scraps in our free bin in our retail area, where customers mostly snub it, and then it goes into our waste bin. I feel bad every time... Our larger scraps are made into cat toys, discounted shoes, and given away to customers. I’ve almost seen some fights in the showroom over some particularly eye-catching scrap. Just kidding, but I swear I could feel the tension in the air!

Striving to Do Better

In the meantime, I’ll keep plugging away, STRIVING TO DO BETTER THIS YEAR. And, I would love for my fellow humans to look at the back of shampoo bottles at the store—do you see a little “B” with a circle around it? If so, know that that this would be a great company to support. Of course, wouldn’t it be even better if that company was local? Wouldn’t it be better if it wasn’t in a plastic bottle? Can’t I just figure out how to make my own at home? Did I mention that my mind easily can travel down a wormhole?!

If you're looking to support more B Corps, I recommend checking out the Find A B Corp tool. In it, you can find a long list of all the certified B Corps from all over the world. It’s fun to narrow it down and see what you can find that’s local for you. I found a wide variety, from salons to bakeries to real estate brokers.