Brands bearing the B Corp label pop up increasingly often – we notice and your clients will, too. This week, Brooklyn-based haircare brand Amika announced its new B Corp accreditation (with a whooping score of 99.2)! As you may have heard, to gain B Corp status, a company must prove a high standard of excellence for social and environmental responsibility, so it’s not an easy win. But it’s worth it. Consumers are seeking brands with a conscience, and you need to be in the know on what this means. We reported recently on professional brands including Aveda, Davines and Great Lengths winning B Corp accreditation. Interesting to see a consumer line picking up on this, too
From Amika
Chelsea Riggs, Amika’s brand president, says, “We’ve transformed Amika in a matter of a few years, from the beginning of our CSR journey in 2018 to achieving one of the greatest validations of becoming a certified B Corp brand.” CSR, meaning corporate social responsibility, is a private business self-regulation. Companies with this self regulation need to be actively achieving goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature.
“In 2022 we qualified for the highly-respected Clean at Sephora seal, further confirming our safe, responsible, and efficacious approach to formulating products. This progress is remarkable and a huge testament to our entire organization’s commitment and passion on this journey. We hope to inspire more hair companies to become B Corp certified and shift the industry as a whole.” Chelsea Riggs, Amika’s brand president.
B Lab Global evaluates a company across five categories to qualify for a B Corp certification. Applicants need at least 80 points from all five categories to receive the certificate. An average score is 50.9; Amika scored 99.2 points—exceeding the industry-expected score. Impressive! Amika says it incorporates all five B Corp facets into its DNA and invests equally in these categories across the brand.
The categories considered in B Corp certification include:
- Environment – how environmental stewardship is measured. Amika uses PCR plastics, partners with recycling program TerraCycle®, is certified Climate Neutral, has pledged to be Net Zero by 2030, and is vegan and cruelty-free.
- Workers – how employees are treated. Amika offers 401k matching, paid parental leave (including for miscarriage + abortion), and competitive PTO and healthcare benefits.
- Community – relationships with vendors, suppliers, and the community a company works in. Amika partners with HairToStay, an organization that raises awareness and funds for scalp-cooling treatment, which significantly reduces hair loss during chemotherapy.
- Customers – the protections a company gives to the public. Amika has implemented privacy data settings, warranties, feedback, and quality control to ensure the best possible experiences for our community.
- Governance (transparency) – how a company is governed. Amika emphasises transparency both with its customers and within the organisation—for example, sharing the results of its clinical and safety testing. The brand also protects investments and initiatives with strong mission drivers and ethical concerns.
“For Amika, B Corp certification felt like a natural path to move forward,” says Jamie Richards, CSR and sustainability lead for Amika. “While often associated with sustainability, B Corp certification goes beyond that and measures our ethics and morals to our workers, community, customers, and higher governance structure. So many of B Corp’s principles were already in practice at Amika, and the certification acts as the seal of approval that we are in fact a friend to her, him, them, and the planet.”
Sustainability ethos
Amika says it has worked hard to establish additional initiatives in its commitment to environmental responsibility. This aligns with the brand’s mission and recent B Corp status. In 2022, Amika received a Climate Neutral certification, measuring its greenhouse gas emissions, purchasing eligible verified carbon credits to offset that footprint, and implementing plans to reduce emissions in its pledge to be Net Zero by 2030. Additionally, the brand was certified Clean at Sephora. The Clean at Sephora certification is awarded to a collection of brands that comply with the retailer’s rigorous guidelines. These focus on transparency in formulation, sourcing, and avoiding certain potentially harmful ingredients to people or the environment.
TerraCycle
In the Fall of 2020, Amika launched a free, national recycling program for its haircare packaging in partnership with TerraCycle, the international recycling leader. TerraCycle is an innovative waste management company with a mission to eliminate the idea of waste–disposing of the brand’s packaging in an environmentally-conscious way.
Want to know more about the process of becoming B Corp certified? Click here
