Be Marvellous, B Corp: our 2023 Action Report
Since March 2023, MR MARVIS has been the largest Dutch clothing brand with the B Corp Certification. As a B Corp, MR MARVIS is counted among businesses spearheading a global movement for an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy. As part of our B Corp identity, we're committed to publishing an Action Report every year. In this report, you can read everything you need to know about our efforts and plans concerning sustainability and social responsibility. You can find the full report via the link below. To give you a sneak peek, here are some highlights that are shared in the report:
- In 2023, 21,913 garments were reconditioned and 1,117 were repaired, preventing them from going to waste.
- With Justdiggit we've set a target to regreen 1,460 hectares in Tanzania.
- In 2023, we donated €116,901 to charities.
- By switching to organic cotton for The Longs, we saved 46 tons of CO2. This equals 46 hot air balloons.
For those who missed the memo: what is B Corp again?
B Corps (short for Benefit Corporations) are commercial companies that meet high standards of conscious decision-making. B Corps commit to public transparency and legal accountability to balance profit with purpose for people and the planet. To become a Certified B Corporation, a company has to do the so-called B Impact Assessment (BIA). This is an elaborate questionnaire that assesses a company on five impact areas: Governance, Customers, Workers, Community and Environment. It sounds simpler than it actually is: it requires a certain type of company DNA and – in our case – more than two years of preparation to take the right steps. Companies need to score at least 80 points (out of the total 200) to become a Certified B Corp. In the Netherlands, the average score is 83.7 points. MR MARVIS scored 101.7 on the B Impact Assessment. A score to be proud of.
To keep the B Corp status, companies must recertify every three years. Since we certified in 2023, 2026 will be our moment of truth again. That may seem far away, but we are ambitious and given the changes we're looking to implement, it's really just around the corner. To make these changes happen, we've thought out 50 projects to undertake in 2024. Some initiatives are already in the making: for example establishing a Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) committee, collaborating with other like-minded B Corps from the fashion industry to tackle industry challenges together and developing a MR MARVIS recycling program.
Do you want to know more? Or do you have a good idea to share with for us? Get in touch via [email protected]. We're always eager to learn!
