“‘B’ is for Benefit. It indicates that a B Corp is earning its profits in a way that is beneficial for the world.” So says Maggie Sun, PR manager of the “clean skincare” brand Greenvines, a B Corp which turns down some profit-­making opportunities in favor of pursuing its ideals. “For example, while most retailers hold a sale on November 11, all our outlets in Taiwan are closed that day. We do this because we don’t want customers to buy things on impulse, and still less do we want them to hoard.”

Vinka Yang, one of the founders of Twine Free Trade LLC, a vendor of homeware, apparel and accessories that is likewise a B Corp, says in a similar vein: “If a customer brings two identical pieces of clothing to the cashier, and if staff confirm that the second is not a gift, but the customer is buying it for their own use, they will advise them to put it back.” He adds that many new employees have a hard time adapting to this approach of “refusing money.”

Best for the world

The definition of a B Corp is based on its practices and outputs in five areas: governance, workers, com­mun­ity, environment, and customers. The rigorous assessment process incorporates all major corporate indicators, such as corporate social responsibility (CSR), the United Nations’ environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) principles and sustainable development goals (SDGs), and social return on investment (SROI).

Last year B Lab announced that it was adjusting the criterion for inclusion in its “Best for the World” recognition from the top-scoring 10% of B Corps worldwide to the top 5%. B Corps include many large enterprises, such as Vestiaire Collective, a French second­hand resale platform for high-end fashion. Nonetheless, Greenvines beat out more than 4400 of the world’s 4700 B Corps to be listed in the “Best for the World: Environment” cat­egory for the fifth year running.

“The B Corp system assesses the ‘impact on the world’ of an enterprise’s business model and profit, and ‘what is good’ about them,” says Maggie Sun. Greenvines cofounders Harris Cheng, Evelyn Liao, and Jack Hsu were classmates in the Department of Finance at National Taiwan University and all had successful ­careers in the financial world after graduation. One day the three made a decision to leave their comfort zone and go into business. “They later called this ‘Option B.’” Why does Greenvines insist on developing “clean skincare products”? “People today do skincare every day and night, so Greenvines elected to ‘make an impact’ here.”

Their background in finance gave the founders an understanding of the importance and impact of wealth, but it is human choice that determines what is the best way to use wealth. For the last 11 years, Greenvines has constantly adjusted and clarified its orientation and made many contributions to the environment. In 2015 the firm was certified as Taiwan’s third B Corp.

Husband and wife Vinka Yang (left) and Elizabeth Tsai (right) have been operating Twine for over ten years now.

Husband and wife Vinka Yang (left) and Elizabeth Tsai (right) have been operating Twine for over ten years now.

When people shop at Twine, “we suggest that they buy only one of each type of clothing, telling them they don’t need two of the same thing.” Vinka Yang hopes that customers will not stockpile clothing, but will instead use each item of apparel to the fullest.

Be the change

The “B” in B Corp was the initial mo­tiva­tion for Twine’s cofounders, husband-­and-­wife team Vinka Yang and Elizabeth Tsai, to found their brand. “­Every year we go to India, where we are moved by the powerful impact on local people of the slogan ‘Be the Change,’ which is visible everywhere and is seen as en­capsul­ating the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi’s thinking,” says Yang. Both he and Tsai were architects and were living well, making a mark in Shanghai’s archi­tecture community. They believe that the best archi­tecture is all natural. For example, they say, the old houses built by our forebears didn’t need air conditioning but stayed naturally cool, and even without water­proof paint they didn’t leak.

“One day Elizabeth said to me, we can’t change the future of architecture, so why don’t we try to start with ‘natural’ homeware, clothing, and accessories?” The couple moved back to Taiwan and dramatically changed their lives, leaving behind architecture to join the cultural and creative industry. “We felt that ‘being the change’ should start with ourselves.” Yang’s rapid way of ­speaking ­reveals his determination and self-confidence: “Who knows, we might ultimately be able to change the world.”

Twine joined the World Fair Trade Organization and became a unique enterprise whose goal is to “benefit others.” They opened a brick-and-mortar store and through fair trade “acquired beautiful handcrafted products from traditional artisans around the world to sell in our shop.” To ensure that such products are acceptable to Taiwanese consumers, the couple have flown all over the globe to discuss improvements and eco-friendliness with the makers of their goods. When necessary, they even send product designs to producers. At one point they were working with artisans in as many as 53 countries.

To enable traditional artisans all over the world to make clothing suited to the Taiwan consumer market, Twine has hired a designer to produce designs, patterns and samples.

courtesy of Twine

B Corp status inspires change

Twine has created a fair trade pathway for cultural and creative products, and has also found a partner in Greenvines. Both enterprises were set up 11 years ago, but while Greenvines makes only 22 products, Twine sells craft products made by 3500 artisans around the world. At the time the two firms linked up, Greenvines was already a B Corp. They asked Twine’s founders: “Why don’t you apply for B Corp Certification?”

“Twine had always been focused on fair trade and engaging with organizations in other countries to bring eco-friendly products to Taiwan.” With their un­precedented “benefit others” business model, Twine had spent four years building up their fair-trade production network. Their contact with Greenvines brought Twine the realiza­tion that fair trade was only one aspect, whereas becoming a B Corp was a more comprehensive ­approach. So without hesitation Twine applied to B Lab for certification, which they received after only one month. Yang says with a laugh: “This speed must be a record.” Becoming a B Corp helped Twine find out how to change the world.

Although B Corps around the world are all dif­ferent in orientation, size, and operations, they all share the same goals. Yang says that while Twine’s fair trade oper­ating model has not changed, “we invest more of our profits in the environment and have raised employee benefits to surpass the requirements of the Company Act and Labor Standards Act.” The most surprising change is “fully transparent pricing.” “For example, the price tag on a NT$2000 garment gives a full breakdown of each cost component, from fabric to sewing to profit.” Consumers know where every dollar of their purchase goes.

The three founders of Greenvines, from left to right: Jack Hsu, Evelyn Liao, and Harris Cheng. (courtesy of Greenvines)

Genuine business impact

“Is becoming a B Corps more suitable for large enter­prises or small ones?” Maggie Sun raises a question that people who don’t understand B Corp status have in their minds.

When Greenvines began to turn a profit several years after being founded and its “small but beautiful” oper­ating model looked sound, “Harris Cheng went to the MIT Sloan School of Management to get an MBA,” says Sun. At Sloan, which is well known for its study of sustainable business strategies, he learned a different concept of sustainability. “For one thing, he noticed that many big American firms had eye-catching ‘B’ logos. Not knowing about B Corp Certification at that time, he wondered: Why ‘B’? Isn’t ‘A’ better? His understanding was changed by the professor of his required class on start-up com­panies.” For sustainability, the professor said, the bigger a company is and the more money it makes, the better. 

“But this isn’t hard to understand,” says Sun. A company that earns annual revenues of US$1 billion has more resources with which to change the world than one earning US$500 million. B Corp Certification shows that a firm is contributing to the world on many levels. If a company can work with thousands of other firms, “together they can change the world to be they way they want it.”

Therefore Greenvines and 40 other B Corp beauty product brands formed the B Corp Beauty Coalition, starting step by step to collectively face up to global challenges like climate change.

The seeds of the moringa tree (Moringa oleifera), a.k.a. the “miracle tree,” must be flown over 2000 kilometers from Africa to get to Taiwan. Through fair trade practices with guaranteed purchasing and upfront financing, farmers in Ghana have been lifted above the poverty line in less than a year. Moringa oil has become one of Greenvines’ star products in Taiwan’s skincare market.

Advancing toward green consumption

It is not money or data that changes the world, but the people who decide how to use money and data. These people include producers, profit-makers, and consumers.

In 2019 Twine decided to create a new brand, Planedo, to make natural, eco-friendly outdoor goods and sportswear. “Twine’s customers come to buy homeware, casual clothing and accessories,” but Yang thought it would be good to include consumers’ outdoor pursuits in their firm’s product range too. “We always have taken ‘consumer impact’ into account. Besides people who actually buy things from us, who else counts as our ‘con­sumers’?” They concluded that in fact they could affect the consumption patterns of all their stakeholders. This idea set Twine’s founding couple off on a search for “‘natural’ technical fabrics” that their product makers could buy.

Greenvines extols the virtues of “reduction.” Sun explains: “We avoid using non-essential additives in skincare products; instead we look for more natural raw materials that are suitable for a circular economy, and prioritize using them in new product formulations. Thus far we have listed 2700 such unnecessary ingredi­ents.” They also forgo some profits by choosing not to make exaggerated claims. “Greenvines hopes that people will reduce unnecessary steps in their skincare routines. For example, at our first press conference we launched a slogan to say, ‘Don’t buy this bottle of conditioner.’ Our team had spent more than 1000 working days developing a natural hair conditioner free of dimethicone, but we always tell people: In fact you don’t need more conditioner to have healthy hair.”

Every B Corp is striving to expand the impact of their brands. They try to build up consciousness of green consumer behavior, “because every individual has the ability to choose a better way to behave toward themselves, and toward the environment that we all depend on for our survival.”

From their use of simple, “clean” ingredients, to the complete recycling of glass containers, Greenvines’ respect for the environment has earned them a B Lab “Best for the World: Environment” global listing for five years running.

On November 11, the day when world retail sales are at their highest, Greenvines instead chose to close all their stores in Taiwan and everyone did a beach cleanup instead. (courtesy of Greenvines)