Flora & Fauna have been a proud B Corp since November 2017. We are proud to be focused on making responsible decisions and leading the way as an ethical business. So what is a B Corp?
We know we have to make changes to help our planet, our health and help drive changes in consumer behaviour. Flora & Fauna became a Certified B Corporation in 2017 being one of the first retailers in Australia to earn this accreditation. Becoming B Corp means that you know we walk the walk, not just talk the talk! So what does it all mean?
What is a Certified B Corporation?
B Corps are a new type of company that uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. B Corp certification is to business what Fair Trade certification is to coffee or USDA Organic certification is to skin care. B Corp launched in 2006 and many businesses are now members of this community.
Why did we decide to become a B Corp?
We knew who we were and our purpose before we'd even started Flora & Fauna; to us Flora & Fauna is the vehicle to make change. We are constantly improving what we do so we are the best possible business we can be and we lead the way as a retailer so we encourage others to make change too. Becoming a B Corp enables us to be part of a bigger community of businesses all with similar values and ethics. The ability to share information and work collectively will drive change faster. We frequently work with other businesses as an advocate for responsible retailing so this is a great way to drive 'Change for Good'. Becoming a B Corp also drives us to continue our journey; for us this is the start of something great and a fantastic way to build a strategy so we can be the best we can possibly be and make as much positive impact as we can.
How did we become certified?
Flora & Fauna was certified by the non-profit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. We’ve evaluated how our practices impact our employees, our community, the environment, and our customers. Getting certified is not an easy or quick process so we worked on it for around 6 months. We are absolutely dedicated to our mission so this was the absolute right thing to do.
What other businesses are B Corps?
Today, there are over 7,800 Certified B Corps around the globe, including Sienna, Dr Bronner's, Preserve, Kester Black, and Patagonia. In Australia and New Zealand there are over 650 businesses including architects, banks, consumer products and plenty more. We are proud to join them in redefining success in business, so that one day everyone uses business as a force for good. You can find out more about B Corp here.
What Positive Practices have we Delivered?
Our Environment
In 2016 we removed the use of plastic from our orders so our boxes are sent naked, using paper tape. We have saved many. many tonnes of plastic with this one move. You may receive packing peanuts in your order. These are made from corn starch and are biodegradable and they dissolve in water. We prefer to use recycled paper shreddies but we do use these on international and fragile orders. However in our 3 years of operation we have never actually purchased any of these, we re-use ones we receive from suppliers to keep waste moving across the planet. All our boxes are recycled and the shreddies are made from recycled waste paper.
Not satisfied with just being plastic free we launched our minimal packaging option in October 2017. Now if you want to use as little packaging as possible select this and we'll send your parcel low impact, but still safe.
In June 2017 we launched our partnership with TerraCycle so we can recycle your beauty products.
In March 2018 we changed our minimal packaging option to be standard. We have now saved over 17 tonnes of packaging going to landfill.
In May 2019 we removed the packing slip from parcels saving 1.3 tonnes of paper a year.
In May 2019 we also offset all our carbon with Greenfleet Australia.
Our Products
We commit to bringing you products that are not only 100% vegan and cruelty-free but also ethically made. We frequently dig deep into how products are made and if there are any grey areas we won't stock them. We bring you innovative, different products that can help your life, health and commitment to the environment.
Responsibility, and being a B Corp, doesn't stop at the environment or our products. We love our team and strive to create a collaborative, open and transparent workplace. If it doesn't feel like work we've done a good job! We also treat our suppliers with respect and regard them as partners on this journey. We're always transparent with them and believe in growing together. And of course we love our community and frequently talk at events, educate others, help other retailers and support some of our favourite organisations.
We'd love more businesses to become B Corps so please find out more here.
