B Corps Case Study – Large, Well-Known Company
Year Founded:
1972
Annual Sales:
$400m (2010)
# of Employees:
1,300
Certified B Corp?
YES
Legal B Corp?
YES
Certified Fair Trade?
NO
Competition:
North Face, REI, Columbia
Operate Separate Nonprofits?
YES
Sample Product: Men’s Primo Down Gortex Jacket
Sample Product Cost:
$649.00
TO B OR NOT TO B?
Are they Different?
COMMITMENT TO SOCIAL CHANGE:
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Pioneer & accredited member of nonprofit, Fair Labor Association
Created 1% for the Planet, a network of 1500 companies that give 1% of
profits annually to environmental causes
Employees: get flex-time for surfing, on-site subsidized child care and can
take up to 2 months paid leave to intern at an environmental nonprofit
Created the Common Threads Initiative: a consumer pledge to keep
everything out of the landfill - Reduce, Repair, Recycle, Reuse, Reimagine
Establishing 175,000 acre Patagonia National Park in Chile
BARRIERS TO SOCIAL CHANGE:
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Average pair of shoes cost $100 so not attainable for bulk of consumers
Patagonia is privately owned so their reporting and monitoring systems are
closed and ultimately they are self-regulated
Riding the “green wave” and many of these initiatives are marketing tactics
EPS 644 Organization Topic Presentation:
B Corps
Karen Davis & Brandy Fleming
October 2012