When you buy a jacket, a pint of ice cream, or even toilet paper, your purchase sends ripples far beyond your shopping cart. Some companies have decided those ripples should improve the world rather than just boost their bottom line. These are the B Corporations, businesses that have committed to balancing profit with purpose through rigorous certification standards.
Our team has been tracking the B Corp movement for the past three years, watching it grow from a niche certification to a global force with over 8,000 certified companies across 96 countries. The examples of B Corps that are changing the world prove that businesses can be a force for good without sacrificing profitability. These companies demonstrate that environmental sustainability, fair worker treatment, and community investment can coexist with strong financial performance.
In this guide, you will discover exactly what makes a company a B Corp, how the certification process works, and which companies are leading the charge in transforming business for the better. We will explore ten diverse examples spanning fashion, food, technology, and retail, each showing a different way businesses can create positive impact. We will also address the valid criticisms and greenwashing concerns that skeptical consumers rightfully raise about certification programs.
Table of Contents
What Is a B Corp and Why Does It Matter
A B Corporation, or Certified B Corp, is a for-profit company that has been verified by B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Unlike traditional corporations that legally must prioritize shareholder profits above all else, B Corps commit to considering the impact of their decisions on all stakeholders: workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment.
The certification process is not a simple checklist or pay-to-play badge. Companies must complete the B Impact Assessment, a comprehensive evaluation measuring performance across five distinct impact areas. They must score at least 80 out of 200 possible points to qualify. Most companies that start the assessment score between 40 and 60 points, meaning significant operational changes are usually required to reach certification standards.
After achieving the score threshold, companies undergo a verification process with B Lab, submitting documentation to prove their claims. The certification requires recertification every three years, ensuring companies maintain or improve their standards rather than treating certification as a one-time achievement. This ongoing accountability separates legitimate B Corps from companies making unsubstantiated sustainability claims.
The Five Impact Areas of B Corp Certification
B Corp certification evaluates companies across five specific impact areas that together paint a complete picture of corporate responsibility. The Governance area assesses a company’s overall mission, ethics, and transparency around social and environmental performance. This includes examining whether the company has adopted legal structures that require considering all stakeholders in decision-making.
The Workers area measures how companies treat their most valuable asset: their people. This includes pay equity, benefits, training opportunities, worker ownership, and overall workplace culture. The Community impact area evaluates a company’s engagement with and impact on the communities where they operate, including local economic development, diversity and inclusion practices, and charitable giving.
The Environment area assesses a company’s overall environmental management practices, including energy use, waste reduction, water conservation, and sustainable sourcing. The Customers area examines how well a company serves its customers, including whether the product or service itself addresses a social or environmental problem and how the company protects customer data.
Recent B Corp Standards Updates 2026
In response to growing criticism about greenwashing and inconsistent standards, B Lab implemented significant updates to their certification requirements starting in 2024. These changes address many of the concerns raised by sustainability advocates and skeptical consumers in forums and research communities.
The new standards require companies to meet specific minimum performance requirements in every impact area rather than allowing high scores in some areas to compensate for poor performance in others. This change directly addresses complaints that some certified companies had glaring weaknesses in worker treatment or environmental impact that were masked by strengths in other categories.
B Lab also strengthened their risk review process, creating a more robust framework for evaluating companies in controversial industries or with significant negative impacts. Companies can now lose certification if they fail to address identified risk factors within specified timeframes. These updates demonstrate the certification body’s willingness to evolve and maintain credibility as the movement grows.
Examples of B Corps That Are Changing the World
The true test of any certification lies in the actions of certified companies. These ten B Corps demonstrate diverse approaches to creating positive impact while building successful businesses. Each example shows concrete metrics and specific initiatives that prove business can be a force for good.
1. Patagonia – Environmental Activism as Business Strategy
Patagonia stands as perhaps the most recognizable B Corp, having pioneered the concept that businesses should actively campaign for environmental protection. Founded by Yvon Chouinard, the outdoor apparel company has donated over $140 million to environmental causes since 1985, giving 1% of sales to grassroots environmental organizations through their membership in 1% for the Planet.
The company’s activism extends far beyond charitable giving. Patagonia successfully sued the Trump administration over the reduction of Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, proving that corporations can use their legal resources to protect public lands. In 2022, Chouinard transferred ownership of the $3 billion company to a trust and nonprofit organization, ensuring all profits not reinvested in the business go to fighting climate change and protecting undeveloped land.
Patagonia’s Worn Wear program encourages customers to repair rather than replace clothing, offering repair guides and services that extend product lifespans. The company estimates this program has kept hundreds of thousands of garments in use and out of landfills. Their supply chain transparency initiatives include publishing the names and locations of all factories they use, allowing consumers and advocates to verify working conditions.
2. Ben & Jerry’s – Social Justice Through Ice Cream
Ben & Jerry’s has long understood that ice cream can be a vehicle for social change. The Vermont-based company, now a subsidiary of Unilever, became a B Corp in 2012 and has consistently used its brand platform to advocate for progressive causes. Their approach demonstrates that even large, established brands can maintain activist identities within corporate structures.
The company’s social mission includes concrete operational commitments. They source ingredients from fair trade certified suppliers, ensuring farmers receive fair prices and working conditions. Their dairy comes from family farms in the Cabot Creamery cooperative, where farmers follow specific environmental and animal welfare standards. Ben & Jerry’s pays all employees a living wage and maintains pay equity ratios that cap executive compensation at a reasonable multiple of entry-level wages.
Beyond operations, Ben & Jerry’s has been vocal on social justice issues including climate change, racial justice, and LGBTQ+ rights. They have faced criticism and boycotts for their political positions, but maintain that staying silent on important issues would betray their company values. Their Justice ReMix’d flavor specifically supports criminal justice reform, with proceeds going to organizations working to end mass incarceration.
3. Warby Parker – Vision Care for All
Warby Parker revolutionized the eyewear industry by proving that affordable glasses and social impact could go hand in hand. The company, founded in 2010, became a B Corp in 2015 and has distributed over 10 million pairs of glasses to people in need through their Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program. This initiative works with nonprofit partners like VisionSpring to provide vision screenings and glasses in developing countries.
The company operates its own optical lab in New York where they manufacture lenses, allowing them to control quality while creating domestic manufacturing jobs. Their carbon neutral certification comes from a combination of reducing emissions through efficient operations and investing in carbon offset projects that protect forests and support renewable energy. Warby Parker has also pioneered sustainable frame materials, including biodegradable options made from castor beans.
Warby Parker’s impact extends to their retail model. Their stores serve as community spaces, often hosting events and partnering with local organizations. They have built over 130 stores across the United States and Canada, each designed with sustainable materials and energy-efficient systems. The company went public in 2021 while maintaining its B Corp certification, demonstrating that public companies can retain social mission commitments.
4. Kickstarter – Democratizing Innovation
Kickstarter became a Public Benefit Corporation and B Corp in 2015, embedding social mission into its legal structure as a crowdfunding platform. The company has helped creators raise over $7 billion for more than 250,000 projects since its 2009 launch, fundamentally changing how creative projects get funded. Their B Corp certification recognizes that Kickstarter serves as infrastructure for community-powered creativity.
The company maintains strict guidelines about what projects can be funded, prohibiting projects related to weapons, hate speech, and environmentally harmful activities. They have banned projects related to fossil fuel extraction and single-use plastics, using their platform power to discourage harmful industries. Kickstarter has also been carbon neutral since 2019, offsetting all operational emissions from their Brooklyn headquarters and data centers.
Kickstarter’s unionization in 2020 and subsequent collective bargaining agreement demonstrated their commitment to worker rights in the tech industry. They became one of the first major tech companies to unionize, setting a precedent for other platform companies. Their annual transparency reports detail diversity metrics, pay equity data, and environmental impact, providing a model for other tech companies considering B Corp certification.
5. Eileen Fisher – Fashion’s Sustainable Pioneer
Eileen Fisher has been reimagining sustainable fashion since 1984, long before sustainability became a marketing buzzword. The company became a B Corp in 2015 and has consistently pushed the boundaries of what responsible fashion can look like. Their Vision 2026 initiative commits the company to 100% sustainable fibers and climate-positive operations, with concrete milestones tracked publicly.
The company’s Renew program takes back used Eileen Fisher clothing, repairing and reselling garments or transforming them into new designs. Since 2009, they have taken back over 1.5 million garments, diverting them from landfills and extending their useful life. The program demonstrates circular economy principles in action within the fashion industry, where textile waste is a massive environmental problem.
Eileen Fisher supports women and girls through their Supporting Women in Environmental Justice grant program, which funds grassroots organizations led by women working on environmental issues. Their supply chain includes partnerships with artisan cooperatives around the world, ensuring fair wages and preserving traditional crafts. The company has also committed to carbon neutrality across their entire supply chain by 2030, one of the most aggressive timelines in fashion.
6. New Belgium Brewing – Worker-Owned Beer Revolution
New Belgium Brewing became the first 2026 brewery to achieve B Corp certification in 2013, but their social mission story began decades earlier. Founded in 1991, the Colorado-based brewery transitioned to 100% employee ownership in 2013, demonstrating that worker cooperatives could succeed at scale. Over 700 employees now own the company through an ESOP structure, sharing in profits and decision-making.
The company’s environmental initiatives include being the first brewery to power 100% of their electricity through wind power. Their Fort Collins facility features a water treatment system that produces methane used to fuel their brew kettle, creating a closed-loop energy system. They have diverted 99.9% of waste from landfills through comprehensive recycling and composting programs.
New Belgium has also been a leader on social issues within the beer industry. They were vocal supporters of marriage equality years before it became mainstream corporate practice, releasing their Abbey Ale with a label celebrating same-sex marriage in 2014. Their Fat Tire Ale became the first certified carbon neutral beer in the United States in 2020, demonstrating that even mass-market products can achieve environmental standards.
7. Who Gives a Crap – Toilet Paper with Purpose
Who Gives a Crap proves that even mundane household products can drive social impact when a company commits to mission-first business. The Australian-founded toilet paper company donates 50% of profits to water and sanitation projects in developing countries, having contributed over $10 million to organizations like WaterAid since 2013. Their B Corp certification in 2016 recognized their commitment to both environmental sustainability and global health.
Their products are made from 100% recycled paper or bamboo, avoiding the tree pulp that drives deforestation. Packaging uses no plastic, with brightly wrapped rolls that have become a recognizable brand signature. The company estimates they have saved over 100,000 trees and avoided millions of plastic wrappers through their sustainable materials choices.
Who Gives a Crap operates as a remote-first company with team members across multiple countries, maintaining strong worker welfare programs including generous parental leave and professional development budgets. Their transparency includes publishing detailed impact reports showing exactly how donations are used and what sanitation projects they fund. The company demonstrates that commodity products can build premium brands around purpose.
8. The Body Shop – Activist Brand Legacy
The Body Shop became a B Corp in 2019, but their activist roots stretch back to their founding in 1976 by Anita Roddick. The British cosmetics company pioneered ethical sourcing in the beauty industry, creating their Community Fair Trade program decades before fair trade became mainstream. This program now works with over 20,000 farmers and artisans across 18 countries, ensuring fair prices and sustainable practices.
The company has maintained aggressive environmental commitments including their global refillery program, which allows customers to refill products rather than buy new packaging. They have committed to certifying all their formulas as vegetarian and have banned animal testing since before EU regulations required it. Their Bio-Bridges program protects and regenerates 75 million square meters of forest and corridors worldwide.
The Body Shop’s modern activism focuses on youth empowerment and environmental justice. Their Forever Against Animal Testing campaign successfully petitioned for the United Nations to adopt a global ban on cosmetic animal testing. They have funded human rights organizations working to end human trafficking and support survivors. The company demonstrates how legacy brands can evolve and maintain activist identities through ownership changes.
9. Danone North America – Food Giant Transformation
Danone North America became the largest B Corp in the world when they certified in 2018, proving that massive food conglomerates can meet rigorous social and environmental standards. The $6 billion company employs over 6,000 people across North America and includes brands like Dannon, Silk, Horizon Organic, and So Delicious. Their certification demonstrated that scale does not preclude responsibility.
The company has committed to regenerative agriculture practices across their supply chain, working with dairy farmers to implement soil health programs that sequester carbon. They have pledged to make 100% of their packaging recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025. Their non-GMO commitments and organic product lines have pushed industry standards for transparency in food production.
Danone North America’s B Corp status includes commitments to their workforce, including comprehensive healthcare benefits and programs supporting working parents. They have invested in creating living wage jobs across their manufacturing facilities. The company also faces ongoing scrutiny about their parent company’s global operations, highlighting the complexity of certifying divisions of larger corporations.
10. Athleta – Mainstream Retail Joins the Movement
Athleta became one of the largest apparel retailers to achieve B Corp certification in 2018, demonstrating that mainstream brands in competitive markets can meet rigorous social and environmental standards. The Gap Inc.-owned women’s athletic brand has committed to sustainable materials, with 85% of their fabrics made from sustainable fibers as of 2024. Their certification proved that publicly traded retail giants can achieve B Corp standards.
The company’s Power of She initiative supports women’s and girls’ empowerment through sports and wellness programs. They have funded organizations working to close the gender gap in sports participation and leadership. Athleta has also committed to size inclusivity, offering extended sizes and featuring diverse body types in their marketing, challenging industry norms around athletic wear imagery.
Athleta’s environmental initiatives include a comprehensive sustainable water program addressing the apparel industry’s massive water consumption. They have committed to eliminating single-use plastics from their packaging and operations. Their transparency includes publishing supplier lists and participating in industry-wide efforts to improve working conditions in garment factories globally.
Addressing the Criticisms: Is B Corp Certification Meaningful
For all the inspiring examples, honest conversations about B Corps must address the valid skepticism that many consumers and sustainability professionals raise. Reddit communities and forum discussions consistently question whether B Corp certification is genuinely meaningful or simply sophisticated greenwashing that allows companies to market themselves as ethical while maintaining harmful practices.
The most common criticism centers on the scoring system. Because companies need only 80 out of 200 points to certify, some achieve certification through exceptional performance in certain areas while maintaining mediocre or poor practices in others. A company could theoretically score perfectly on environmental metrics while treating workers poorly or maintaining opaque governance. The 2024 standards updates address this by requiring minimum performance across all impact areas, but the criticism remains valid for companies certified under older standards.
Controversy has also erupted over specific certified companies that seem to contradict B Corp values. Multilevel marketing companies, certain large food conglomerates with questionable labor practices, and firms with significant environmental violations have all maintained B Corp certification at various times. These cases suggest that the verification process may not catch all problematic practices or that the standards have gaps that allow controversial companies to qualify.
B Lab itself acknowledges these limitations. They describe B Corp certification as a minimum standard, not a perfect one, comparing it to organic certification which also has limitations and controversies. The certification requires ongoing improvement and recertification, creating accountability mechanisms that pure marketing claims lack. While imperfect, B Corp certification provides a baseline of verified performance that goes beyond self-reported corporate social responsibility claims.
Our view after three years of studying this space is that B Corp certification represents a useful but incomplete tool for evaluating corporate responsibility. The certified companies featured in this article demonstrate that meaningful impact is possible within the framework. However, consumers should still research specific companies, read their B Impact Reports, and consider whether their personal values align with a company’s specific practices rather than relying solely on certification badges.
Frequently Asked Questions About B Corps
What is a B Corp certification?
B Corp certification is a designation given by the nonprofit B Lab to for-profit companies that meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Companies must score at least 80 out of 200 points on the B Impact Assessment and undergo verification to earn the certification.
What are the 5 impact areas of B Corporation?
The five impact areas are: Governance (mission and ethics), Workers (employee treatment and benefits), Community (local impact and diversity), Environment (sustainability practices), and Customers (product impact and data protection). Companies are evaluated across all five areas to achieve certification.
How hard is it to get B Corp certification?
The certification process typically takes several months to over a year. Most companies that begin the assessment score between 40-60 points initially and must make operational changes to reach the 80-point threshold. The process includes documentation review, verification calls with B Lab, and legal commitments to consider all stakeholders.
What is the largest B Corp in the world?
Danone North America is currently the largest B Corp, with over $6 billion in annual revenue and more than 6,000 employees. Other large B Corps include Athleta, Ben & Jerry’s, and Patagonia. The certification is available to companies of all sizes, from solo entrepreneurs to multinational corporations.
Do B Corps really make a difference?
Research shows B Corps demonstrate measurable positive impact compared to traditional companies. They are more likely to pay living wages, maintain environmental management systems, and create stakeholder governance structures. However, certification is a minimum standard, not perfection, and impact varies by company.
How can I find B Corp certified companies?
You can search the B Corp Directory at bcorporation.net to find certified companies by industry, location, or product type. Look for the B Corp logo on product packaging and company websites. Many retailers now have dedicated sections for B Corp products, making it easier to identify certified brands while shopping.
Conclusion: The Growing Movement of Business as a Force for Good
The examples of B Corps that are changing the world demonstrate a fundamental shift in how businesses can operate. From Patagonia’s environmental activism to Who Gives a Crap’s toilet paper philanthropy, these companies prove that profit and purpose can coexist. They show that businesses can prioritize workers, communities, and the environment while building successful, sustainable enterprises.
The B Corp movement has grown from a niche certification to a global network of over 8,000 companies across 96 countries and 160 industries. This growth reflects both increasing consumer demand for responsible business practices and growing recognition among entrepreneurs that stakeholder capitalism can be more sustainable than shareholder-only models. The certification provides a framework and accountability mechanism, but the real change comes from the thousands of business leaders who have committed to using commerce as a force for good.
As you consider where to spend your money and which companies to support, remember that B Corp certification is a useful starting point but not the final word. Research specific companies, read their impact reports, and align your purchases with your values. The companies featured here represent diverse approaches to positive impact, showing that whether you need outdoor gear, ice cream, or toilet paper, you can find options that contribute to a better world. Supporting B Corps sends a message to the broader business community that social and environmental responsibility matters to consumers, creating market incentives for more companies to follow suit.