The B Corp

Almost 8,000 worldwide, including over 400 in the textile, clothing, and leather sectors: these are the companies of the B Corp movement (short for Benefit Corporations). The movement was born in 2006 on the initiative of two former American sportswear entrepreneurs who founded B Lab, a non-profit organization with the goal of certifying companies that "commit to measuring and considering their environmental and social performance with the same attention traditionally given to economic results and believe in business as a positive force committed to producing value for the biosphere and society." (excerpt from https://bcorporation.eu/country_partner/italy-it/).

 

The first B Corps were certified in 2007, with Patagonia being the first well-known apparel brand to certify in 2011, followed by fashion designer Eileen Fisher in 2015. However, the movement's boom is much more recent, with over half of the companies being certified between 2022 and 2023.

 

In Italy, there are 263 B Corps, including ten in the clothing industry and four in the textile industry. The first to certify was the outerwear brand Save the Duck in 2019, followed by the textile company Successori Reda in 2020. The list of Italian B Corps in textiles and fashion also includes Rifò from Prato (2020), specializing in clothing with recycled materials; Back Label (2021), offering yoga and wellness clothing; the footwear brand ACBC (2021); North Sails (2021) for outerwear; Seay (2021) for outerwear and marine clothing; Miomojo (2022) for bags and accessories; Tintoria Jacchetti (2023); Linificio e Canapificio Nazionale (2023); Dynamo (2023) for outdoor clothing; Maison Cashmere (2023) for knitwear; Artknit Studios (2023) for knitwear; Endelea (2023) for clothing and accessories produced in Africa.

 

How does a company become a B Corp? Firstly, it should be clarified that B Corp is a third-party certification issued by B Lab, the private organization based in the USA established by the founders of the movement and internationally recognized. The certification process requires B Lab to analyse the company's sustainability profile, measuring its performance against the certification standard. This assessment considers five macro areas in addition to the business model: corporate governance, community relations, people, customers, and environmental impact. The first step is a self-assessment using the B Impact Assessment, an online tool by B Lab, which generates an overall score. If the score exceeds the minimum threshold, it initiates the verification procedures by B Lab, including checking the consistency of the claims in the self-assessment and document verification by a B Lab analyst. The certification is valid for three years, after which it must be renewed.

 

One of the certification requirements is for the company to adopt the legal form of “Benefit Company”. On the website maintained by Nativa, a company promoting the values of the B Corp movement (www.societabenefit.net), it is explained that the regulation of benefit companies in Italy is governed by Law No. 208 of 28/12/2015 (Stability Law 2016), Art.1, Paragraphs 376-384, which came into effect on January 1, 2016. Newly formed companies can be established as benefit companies with any notary, and existing companies can become benefit companies by amending their statutes. The procedure for amending the statute is identical to that adopted for any similar corporate operation, with the addition of a declaration in the corporate purpose that the company is a benefit company and other modifications specified by law.

 

Adopting a standard for measuring social and environmental value generated by the company is a value in itself, to which the internationally recognized certification adds distinction from competitors. It qualifies the company to potential investors and financiers, enhancing its credibility.