As Dr. Bronner’s drops its B Corp status, brands weigh the pros and cons of the certification

“Sharing the same logo and messaging regarding being of ‘benefit’ to the world with large multinational CPG companies with a history of serious ecological and labor issues, and no comprehensive or credible eco-social certification of supply chains, is unacceptable to us,” David and Michael Bronner, who are the brand’s president and CEO, respectively, said in a joint statement announcing the move.

According to B Lab, the nonprofit behind the certification, the certification means a company is doing business with “a force for good.” But in recent years, the B Corp seal has drawn criticism for becoming a symbol of corporate greenwashing. The number of certified B Corp companies more than doubled between 2020 and 2023, from 3,735 in 2020 to nearly 8,000. In its statement, Dr. Bronner specifically called out B Labs’ certification of multinationals like Unilever Australia, Nestlé Health Science and Nespresso. The cost of certification is tiered and can range anywhere between $1,000 and $50,000, with companies with paying a higher fee according to their revenue. There is also an annual renewal fee B Corps must pay for upkeep.

While dropping a B Corp certification is still rare, more brands are opting for other types of certifications, that they feel carry more weight. Executives who spoke to Modern Retail outlined their own reasons for doing so.

B Lab has, in some ways, made it more difficult to become a B Corp. In January 2024, B Lab put out an updated draft of standards for public review. Some of the proposed changes included requiring companies to prove “continuous improvement” as they recertify.

But overall, the number of B Corps has exploded in recent years, leading some to question whether it is still too easy to become a B Corp. The inclusion of companies like Nespresso has been hotly contested. When Nespresso became a B Corp in 2022, 30 other B Corps joined the Fair World Project to petition against Nespresso’s certification. The petition cited Nespresso’s muddled environmental record, as Nespresso claims about 30% of its aluminum capsules are recycled globally. 

‘It’s not particularly meaningful‘

Amid this debate, some companies are opting for different types of certifications. Emergency contraceptive startup Cadence OTC decided to become a Public Benefit Corporation, rather than a B Corp. Cadence OTC was established as a PBC in 2020, the year Cadence was founded. The company’s emergency contraceptive officially came to market in March 2024.

“I understand and agree with Dr. Bronner’s position on B Corp certification,” Samantha Miller, CEO of Cadence OTC, told Modern Retail. Miller explained that B Corp certification “is based on the opinions of a small group of individuals and does not involve any legal protection or oversight.” In contrast, being a PBC is a binding legal commitment in which companies aim to balance financial interests with social impact goals. “Because most B Corps are still a for-profit organization, they are legally obligated to maximize profit to shareholders,” Miller said. On the other hand, Miller said that a PBC only accepts investment from shareholders willing to share the company’s mission and sacrifice some profit to achieve a public benefit if needed. 

Miller also pointed to other relevant issues currently facing B Corps. For instance, “A B Corp status is not a legal protection and therefore cannot protect B Corp companies’ DEI practices.” Whereas PBC status offers a legal protection of a company’s public benefits goals that are in its charter. 

Karl Shevick, founder and CEO of the mattress brand Earthfoam, also agreed with the Dr. Bronner’s decision to drop its B Corp status. 

“I applaud the fact that they are willing to constantly reexamine their own policies and positions, even when it is not in their immediate financial interest to do so,” Shevick said. Earthfoam also decided to forgo obtaining B Corp certification to prioritize other sustainability-geared certifications with publicly available standards. Some of Earthfoam’s current seals include Fair For Life’s Fair Trade, the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and the Global Organic Latex Standard (GOLS), among others. 

At one point, Shevick said Earthfoam had considered pursuing B Corp status, but in researching the process, he did not find it to be particularly meaningful to have. He also didn’t think it would necessarily sway more consumers to buy from Earthfoam. “Even though there was a lot of work involved in completing the assessment, the standard requirements and meaning were not particularly clear to me,” Shevick said. The criteria process has changed over the past year, with the new scoring system meant to reflect more relevant categories like fair wages, human rights and climate action.  

B Corp certification provides ‘a starting point‘

It can take some companies years and a substantial amount of capital to cover B Corp certification applications. Some brands that get the designation know that it’s not the end-all, be-all of sustainability practices. 

Susie Hewson, founder of plastic-free period care company Natracare, said her company pursued the B-Corp certification last year as a way to further document its sustainability practices. Natracare gained B-Corp status in late 2024. But, Hewson said, consumers need to be aware that just because a company is a B Corp, it doesn’t mean that it’s organic or fair trade or meets other kinds of ethical and environmental standards that might matter to them.

“It does give you a starting point,” she said. “It just asks those questions of the business, and any business that’s not asking questions of itself is not going to be one that modern-day consumers are looking to support.” Hewson added that savvy consumers nowadays, especially the newer generation, are not just interested in the product but also in what the company is doing.

Hewson, who founded the U.K.-based brand 35 years ago with a mission of getting plastic waste out of the environment, said B Corp’s certification process helps companies set baselines for their ESG practices. The company’s supply chain, for instance, is powered off of green energy, and its products are industrially compostable. “It did formalize [what we’ve done] and focus on where else we can go to meet our environmental and ethical goals further,” Hewson said.

It’s not just the value of B Corp certifications that are being questioned.  

“I will concede that there is a general problem with certification standards, in that, there is often incentive to make the standard easier to comply with,” Shevick said. This goes for both the non-profits that want to extend their influence and importance and the companies that want the mark of approval for credibility.

But companies like Natracare find being a B Corp especially useful in the current climate. “When we’re surrounded by global politics that are trying to move away from those principles,” Hewson said. “It’s down to businesses to keep pushing the agenda.”

Melissa Daniels contributed reporting.