Beauty B Corps form coalition to improve sustainability standards of industry
By Rebecca Hitchon | 11 January 2022 | Feature, Movers & Shakers, News, Sustainability & the environment
26 certified B Corporations within the beauty industry have teamed together to form the B Corp Beauty Coalition, with the aim of improving social and environmental practices of the industry.
Certified B Corporations, or B Corps, are businesses that balance purpose with profit. They are legally required to consider the effects of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers and the environment.
The B Corps within the coalition, who span across eight countries, will strive to enable collaboration between companies, identify and share better practices, implement improvements and publish their outcomes, influence the industry to trigger broad changes to improve its social and environmental impact, and better beauty consumer understanding.
The B Corp Beauty Coalition’s vision is to deliver ‘beauty for good’.
“As Certified B Corporations meeting the highest standards of social and environmental impact, we have become
increasingly uncomfortable with the social and environmental footprint of the beauty industry and concluded our
respective solo efforts to enable positive change can be enhanced through a partnership of mutual commitment,” comments Davide Bollati, president of haircare brand Davines, founding member of the B Corp Beauty coalition.
“Specifically, we commit to invest our time and efforts to improve four key issues that affect everyone and everything:
ingredient sourcing and sustainability; greener logistics; packaging responsibility; consistent and clear external
messaging that customers can understand and trust,” continues Shaun Russell, founder of home and body fragrance brand
Skandinavisk, a co-founding member of the coalition.
Other companies within the coalition include The Body Shop, Rituals Cosmetics, Aromatherapy Associates, Beauty Kitchen and Green Circle Salons, as well as ingredient supplier Laboratoires Expanscience.
“With the business sector uniquely culpable for much of the negative impacts of climate change and the systemic inequities we face today, this type of innovative collaboration is exactly what the world needs from business,” adds Kara Peck, senior director of strategy & partnerships for B Lab US/Canada, the organisation behind the B Corp certification method.
“The work of the coalition is going to greatly accelerate the beauty and personal care industry’s – and our economy’s – shift to a just, regenerative, zero-carbon future.”