Our Favorite B Corps

By Dan Carlson

One of the coolest parts of becoming a Certified Benefit Corporation is that we’ve officially joined a family of some amazing companies - many of which we’ve admired and supported long before we joined their ranks.

The B Corp movement is a global one, with organizations of all sizes and degrees of prominence. Some are relatively unknown, while others are very well-known - but perhaps not known as a B Corp. But if there’s one common thread, is that they’re all dedicated to quality and community in everything they do. 

We wanted to share a list of our favorite B Corp and some recommendations of what they offer. Read on and check them out!

Rebecca (taproom): UncommonGoods

Each year, I do my best to better support our communities, the environment, and independent artists. I have been purchasing items from UncommonGoods for several years now, as they help me find truly unique gifts that you just can't find in stores. I've always been a thoughtful gift giver - I don’t want to just go out and buy a gift card for someone (editor’s note: but if YOU want to buy a gift card from, say, a local craft brewery, we encourage that). I draw on my experiences with each person I buy for, and Uncommon Goods has always done a great job finding that perfect gift for family, friends, and co-workers.

I honestly had very little idea what was involved in being a Certified Benefit Corporation until we started to take the steps to gain our certification here at Redemption Rock. I always just saw the B Corp logo on Uncommon Goods' website and catalogs and thought, "wow, that's cool" and that was the extent of it. Upon exploring their website, I gained a completely new appreciation for what they offer and strive to do each and every day. For example, their "Better 2 Give" program makes donations with each customer purchase to organizations like the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, RAINN, and the IRC (International Rescue Committee). They have donated over $2 million dollars to date for those groups. They also give a starting pay for hourly employees at TWICE the federal minimum wage, and have several programs which truly benefit the well-being and growth of their employees.

If I could make a recommendation for folks considering ordering from Uncommon Goods, I would look at their food & drink and kitchen & bar items first. There are so many items in those categories that are made by independent craftsmen & women. It could be a liquor dispenser made out of rough granite from a husband and wife team in New Hampshire, or it could be a DIY mochi ice cream kit. A lot of them also use reclaimed or recycled materials in their products. When making a purchase, you are truly getting a unique and "uncommon" gift for that special someone, as well as helping to make positive changes in the community and the world by the donations they give to those various organizations.

Bronwyn (sales): Prosperity Candle

Breathe in. Breathe out. It’s a whole lot of what we all need right now. 

When I think about different ways I like to relax and step away from reality, even if for a moment, one thing that always brings me comfort is a burning candle. I am continuously amazed how a scent can bring me back to places I might have forgotten or places that seem all too familiar. If you can find the right one, it can really change your day.

I first learned about Prosperity Candle, a handmade candle manufacturer in Easthampton, Mass., through our work with African Community Education (ACE). With a story behind each hand-crafted candle, the organization supports refugees and artisans in entrepreneurship, allowing them to earn a living wage as candlemakers. In my past life as a development worker, I have seen first-hand the power and impact of women driving small business within their communities. 

Prosperity Candle is made up of skilled women representing countries such as Haiti, Burma, Bhutan, The Democratic Republic of Congo, and Iraq. These artisans have survived loss, devastation, famine, and war.  Their bravery and tenacity have been poured into every candle as they continue to create a future for themselves and their families.

And more recently, following the announcement that the United States would withdraw from the Paris Agreement, Prosperity Candle became a proud member of We Are Still In. They are a part of a broader coalition of businesses, nonprofits, faith organizations, cities, towns and schools joined together to continue American commitment to fighting climate change.

I appreciate the fact that Prosperity Candle truly embodies their mission as an organization and, as a B Corp, and are committed to the sustainability of its people, and the environment. Candles are ethically made with pure ingredients, which offers a clean burn. I like that you can feel good about getting a quality product from a quality source.

Frances (taproom): Leap Organics

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve tried to shift my day-to-day interests towards healthier living - and one small way I’ve done that is by purchasing products that are not only healthy for me, but healthy for the environment and community. 

That’s how I discovered Leap Organics, a B Corp focused on “real” soap. Soap used to be a simple and natural product. But as big corporations started making soaps, quality went down and chemicals went in. What I love about Leap Organics is they bring soap back to the basics. You can wash your hands without thinking about all of the chemicals your hands are absorbing and can instead think about how such a small purchase such as soap is impacting your health as well as the environment. Leap Organics is a great soap product because it smells good and makes your skin soft and what goes into making the soap is even better. Their products are made from 100% organic ingredients and are Cruelty Free and biodegradable, and their containers and packaging are recyclable - the perfect choice for me. And the label art stands out from all the other soap companies out there!

Jen (events): Allbirds

There is nothing more important than a good pair of shoes when you’re on your feet all day in the taproom – concrete floors are easy to clean, but can be hell on the toesies. Allbirds are my shoe of choice for comfort, ease of maintenance, and style - plus they’re a B Corp!

As a shoe company, it only makes sense that they are focusing on their footprint – their carbon footprint! Their goal is to reduce their carbon footprint to zero, and beyond – they are working toward becoming carbon negative, quite a feet indeed!

Allbirds considers the environment a stakeholder in all that they do. Their shoes are made from sustainable materials – primarily wool from happy, healthy sheep from ZQ certified growers (which requires that farmers focus on animal welfare, environmental sustainability, and social responsibility among other things). Check out their website to learn about the materials they use – they’ve done some really cool sciency stuff to make better materials, and therefore better shoes, and therefore a better world!

While all of that is more than enough to convince you to check them out, Allbirds are also machine washable – perfect for those of you who spill a good amount of beer on your shoes! Don’t put them in the dryer though; speaking from personal experience, it’s not the move.

As an avid non-runner, I highly recommend the tree runners. They feel like wearing clouds - very stylish, supportive clouds. During my research for this blog, I may have also purchased my first pair of Allbirds flats – stay tuned for whether they also feel like clouds.

Kevin (taproom GM): Ben & Jerry’s

Before I ever had a sense of the business, what drew me to Ben & Jerry’s was their products. Obviously. They make ice cream. I don’t know if the word “connoisseur” is appropriate, but I feel like I’ve had much more than a fair share of ice cream in my life. 

Their S’mores flavor was what did it for me (years ago, when it was still called Marsha Marsha Marshmallow). I was obsessed. I’ve tried quite a few more over the years, and I’m very impressed with their new take on the same idea (Gimme S’more) but I’ll always go back to my first love. Ben & Jerry’s seems to strike a solid balance between product quality and irreverence, which I heavily support in any company. Why work hard if you can’t have some fun with it afterward?

As a business, Ben & Jerry’s is something to strive for. They are very clearly successful and ubiquitous, (they got a shoutout in The Avenger’s franchise, for fuck’s sake) but maintain a very approachable, small-town vibe to their brand. 

And the transparency on their website is impressive, listing their parent conglomerate Unilever front and center under company structure, then explaining why that’s not a bad thing and introducing you to their whole board of directors. I love the walkthroughs of their operations, ice cream making process, and photos of staff pets. It all allows for a more intimate and personal view of the operation. Finally, their commitment to their community and environmental initiatives is fantastic. The Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, their SEAR Report, and linked prosperity initiatives all allow a deep dive into how they try to use the company as a force for good.

Beyond their business, Ben and Jerry are just pretty interesting figures to me. It’s exciting to see owners who are out being arrested at human rights protests, pushing a clear agenda within their industry, and letting their business be a platform to highlight social injustices. From the marketing, to the ownership, to the final product, it feels like Ben & Jerry’s all works toward the same end without apology. It’s hard not to love that.

Dan (marketing): Vermont Creamery

You can probably ascertain from the name what Vermont Creamery does and where they are, but let me  tell you this: their goat cheese is the bomb.

If you’ve had our goat cheese bites in the taproom, then you’ve had Vermont Creamery’s goat cheese. But as adorable and nifty and tasty as those bites are, I prefer to employ Vermont Creamery’s goat cheese in a much more essential application: scrambled eggs. Add a big dollop of Vermont Creamery goat cheese to your eggs right before they’re finished cooking and it adds a truly delightful creaminess and a touch of acidity, and it lowers the eggs’ temp so they don’t overcook.

Boom. A goat cheese recommendation AND a dope-ass scrambled eggs recipe at the same time. Happy holidays.

But just as importantly, Vermont Creamery’s social initiatives resonate greatly with us. They pay their staff a living wage and promote from within. They support their local community and charities tremendously. The source locally whenever possible and take steps to reduce their carbon footprint. You just gotta love it.

Also, their butter’s real good, too. Don’t skimp on butter, folks.

Greg (brewer): Allagash Brewery

Yes, obviously my favorite B Corp is a brewery, I'm a brewer, I'VE GOT BEER ON ME BRAIN.

Anyway, I've often referred to Allagash as the Shawshank Redemption of breweries - it might not be your personal favorite, but no one's gonna argue with you if it is. They've got a clear vision about what they brew, and then absolutely blow the boundaries off of that vision.

They brew one the country's single best representations of a Belgian-Style Tripel. They also do a bourbon barrel-aged version of that beer, and it's one of the country's single best representations of barrel-aging. You can buy both at Price Chopper. This would be like the WooSox signing Mookie Betts and him moving into your guest room - just an unimaginable level of access to greatness. But it's real!

As good as their beer is, however, it's many of their practices as a business that inspire us here. We literally copy-and-pasted their model of donating taproom tips to local nonprofits to our own business, and I feel comfortable coming clean about that because they peeled back the curtain during our development phase and gave us a behind-the-scenes tour of their sustainability programs (this was also our first experience with their fabled Industry Tour - another feather for their cap, they are peerless in industry hospitality). It makes perfect sense for breweries to concern themselves with reducing energy and water use, and diverting their wastestream away from landfills, and Allagash sets the benchmark for all of it.

Further, they're also an industry leader in supporting local agriculture. Despite being successful enough to have amassed adoring fans as far away as Chicago and LA, they're still steadfastly dedicated to their home state. They're aiming to use 1 million pounds of Maine-grown grain each year, and regularly brew beers with Maine-grown fruits and the like. Sourcing local ingredients is often challenging and expensive, and that they do it at their scale speaks to their dedication and passion in what they believe in.

In conclusion, everything that makes craft beer special - the history, the connection to community and the environment, as well as the flavor and variety of the beer itself - Allagash has for years been an industry leader, and they continue to get better. I implore you, buy their fucking beer.

Dani (CEO): King Arthur Flour

I'm a history buff. It's one of the reasons I like beer - it's intrinsically linked and shaped by humanity since people learned to ferment half-baked bread in water and get a buzz off of it. Beer and flour, both made from grains, are the reasons why our ancestors created agrarian society, and they're the reason society advanced through the industrial revolution to the modern world. 

King Arthur Flour has been here since the founding of our American society (they were not only the first flour company in America, but the first food company!), and has consistently been a leader in what it means to be a good corporate citizen. They've focused on product quality, innovation, and local sourcing since their early days as a company, becoming a first mover in using American-grown wheat with the expansion of farming and the opening of the Erie Canal. 

As the company has evolved and grown over the generations, they've made giving back to their community and empowering their employees a priority. King Arthur's Bake for Good program was created in 1992 to teach kids how to bake bread and encourage them to share with others - schoolchildren bake two loaves of bread - one to eat and one to give to someone in need or as an act of kindness. In 2004, King Arthur became entirely employee owned, and in 2007 became a founding member of the B Corp Community.

 Being a B Corp is clearly something they take very seriously. It's something that represents who they are as a company and as a collection of people. It's a tool for growth and leadership, for doing things you don't have to do but that make you and your communities better. I admire their transparency, and ability to lay out a why behind each of their goals, create and implement a plan, and share those steps publicly, consistently and without pretense. It clearly comes from a place of authenticity, of a company who was already a B Corp before B Corps were a thing. In a humble package of flour, King Arthur represents the best of American companies.