Meet the Founder: What it Means to be B Corp Meet the Founder

This march has been all about celebrating some of our most sustainable and ethical brands in recognition of B Corp Month. As the Home of Conscious Brands, we wanted to champion these trailblazing businesses that have all worked to achieve the highest standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.

Earlier this month, we spoke to Irene Forte and Jules Miller (founder of The Nue Co.) about their B Corp Certified businesses, and you read about the missions behind their brands and the future of the industry.

Today, we're speaking to the founders of Yoni, Briiv and BYBI as they tell us more about the importance of the certificate and their commitments to building conscious-led businesses.

Why was it important that the brand achieved B Corp Certification?

“We felt passionate about attaining the highest accreditation possible of corporate, environmental and social governance, and really proving that we are committed to our environmental mission.” – Dominika Minarovic, Co-Founder of BYBI

“I wanted to become a B Corp because it challenges you as a business owner or leader to review all aspects of your business – not just your product or supply chain, but everything from your HR policies, the type of lunch you serve, to the cleaning products used in your office. It also ensures that as the business expanded and more people came on board that we would continue to make decisions taking people, planet and not only profit into account.” – Mariah Mansvelt Beck, founder of Yoni

How do you live out the B corp commitment in your everyday practice?

“Sustainability is a key facet of our business, from the natural materials that make up Briiv to the circular nature of the product, but it isn’t just about how eco-friendly we are. The B Impact Assessment allowed us to look at the social and fiscal sustainability of Briiv, which affects every aspect of our business and everyday practice.”- Sean Sykes, Co-Founder of Briiv

Have you had any major challenges adopting or maintaining certain green policies, and how have you overcome this?

"What is the most sustainable choice changes with time as we gain more insights into the effects of materials and/or as new materials are developed. We aim to continue to do our research and to implement what we can when we can." – Mariah Mansvelt Beck, founder of Yoni

“One of the biggest challenges we face is sourcing some of the sustainable materials which we use. As a lot of the materials that we use are unique, sometimes it requires us to source materials and components from all over the world. With this in mind, we need to weigh up the carbon footprint this creates against alternative materials and choose the one that we feel has the least impact. Where there is no alternative option, we’ll offset our carbon footprint through planting trees.” – Sean Sykes, Co-Founder of Briiv

How do you balance result-driven results with sustainability?

“People have become more considered in their purchases, careful about where they are spending their money and want to invest in brands they truly believe in, to make themselves feel good too. As consumer demand grows for sustainable businesses, so does the opportunity to tell your story, increase your market share and therefore become more profitable.” – Dominika Minarovic, Co-Founder of BYBI

“I always say - I am an idealist but in business I have learned to be pragmatic. A business also needs to be financially sustainable so the financial impact also weighs in when taking decisions but shouldn't be the only factor.” – Mariah Mansvelt Beck, founder of Yoni

Do you think your industry is becoming more eco-conscious, and what more can be done?

“The beauty industry and its infrastructure is typically carbon intensive. We hope to challenge the norm, creating a low-carbon supply chain for other brands to replicate and follow, positively impacting the planet. To help us do this, we created the Susty Score, an internal auditing system to help us determine the sustainability of the ingredients and materials we use.” – Dominika Minarovic, Co-Founder of BYBI

"We believe larger players in the market often discuss sustainability and being more eco-conscious, however often don’t support these statements with actions. It’s one thing to talk about pledging money to fight climate change or saying you’ll plant a tree per order but do they stop using plastics derived from fossil fuels? Do they continue to use heavy polluting manufacturing techniques? Actions speak louder than words." – Sean Sykes, Co-Founder of Briiv

"The fem care industry is changing. More brands are using (partially) sustainable materials. More brands are adding reusable options to their portfolio. As consumers, it helps to demand change by putting your money where your mouth is and supporting eco-conscious initiatives. As a brand we are adding on more reusable options like a new style of Period Proof Underwear as well as reducing the amount of packaging we are using on our products or improving its sustainability. A good example is how we recently started to use biodegradable plastic to wrap our tampons instead of the usual plastic wrapping. Leading by example I hope the rest of the industry will be inspired to do the same!" – Mariah Mansvelt Beck, founder of Yoni

What is the future vision of the brand – do you have long-term goals or immediate priorities you’re working to achieve?

"One of the longer-term projects we are now working on that really excites me is developing an over-the-counter probiotic to support the vaginal microbiome. In the shorter term, we are working on developing underwear that can be used not only when you are menstruating but also when you have light urine loss." – Mariah Mansvelt Beck, founder of Yoni

"BYBI is dedicated to doing beauty better and committed to continuous improvement. The B Corp process has helped identify the areas that are needed to focus on and as BYBI's work develops. The certification will be used to verify progress, accountability and improve the overall score year on year." – Dominika Minarovic, Co-Founder of BYBI

"We’re currently working on expanding our product range further with a larger, more powerful version of Briiv as well as other circular products which are designed to support customer’s wellbeing." – Sean Sykes, Co-Founder of Briiv

Find out more about our B Corp Brands and shop the B Corp Collection here