The Brand for Good Benchmark: 2021 Featured Companies
Last year The Agency Oneto released a Brand for Good Benchmark Report, with Brand for Good being defined as companies finding Purpose and being guided by and acting on it.
We covered ten companies that created what we call a Purpose Flywheel, built on Being Great and Being Good. Being Great means building great products and experiences and marketing responsibly. Being Good means standing for more and being active in the world, meeting the needs of additional stakeholders, including shareholders.
This year we feature a new list of 10 small-ish, inspiring companies that demonstrate how to Brand for Good and do it better.
These are companies that are undeterred from following their own path, by taking on difficult challenges, that embrace the true spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation by not accepting that things have to be done the old way. They raise the game. They push forward. They don’t see barriers, but rather opportunity. It’s almost as if they don’t know how to do it any other way.
Ten small companies doing it better and leading the way.
1. Veja
Veja didn’t set out to become a phenomenon. The founders launched the company back in 2005 making shoes better without marketing hype, just with a commitment to making a positive impact. Veja is a model of setting a vision, holding to a commitment, and slowly but surely doing it better.
2. Everytable
What if nutritious food is a human right? That’s what the founder of Everytable believes and is deploying a unique pricing model to support making healthy, delicious food accessible to all. What if you can break the old business models and create and enroll consumers in a new revenue model that works for all?
3. Trove
We’ve seen it before, but not often enough. In last year’s Brand for Good report, we featured Saitex, a company that has made it possible for fashion companies to produce more sustainable jeans. Trove is similar; it’s another company that has developed the capability that supports other companies in activating more sustainable practices. Trove is the engine behind the circular economy, helping brands manage the resale of their goods. It’s good for the environment, the brands, and consumers.
4. Ecologyst
Who says consumers won’t buy products just because a company is more sustainable? Ecologyst has proven that myth wrong, going beyond just getting the purchase. Three years ago the company revamped its manufacturing practices, casting aside plastic and synthetic materials for natural fibers and brought all its manufacturing home to Canada. When the company couldn’t secure bank funding to support the shift, the founders reached out to its consumers, 600 who are now small-scale investors backing the company. There are customers out there that are willing to support brands doing the right thing not just for the environment, but for their communities and customers.
5. Rothy’s
What to do with all that plastic? Rothy’s was founded to answer that question, turning old plastic bottles first into shoes and now into other fashion goods. The company is all about “products built better” and is run with sustainability at its core. Investing in its own technology and manufacturing plant, the company has shown us what doing it better can look like when a company is committed.
6. The Organic Project
Seeking to up-level period products for girls and women, two cousins founded The Organic Project after corporate careers, yet eschewed traditional practices to gain traction in the market. The pair are committed to creating products that are good for consumers and the planet and have built purpose into the company’s ethos and practices. The young company has already donated 325,000 period products to support women and girls who don't have access to safe products.
7. Beneficial State Bank
Today banks wouldn’t come to mind as being the most trustworthy or “for good,” but that’s not the case with Beneficial State Bank, a bank that’s a B Corp and provides financing for companies supporting economic justice and environmental sustainability. The bank is led by social responsibility and a triple bottom line, offering customers a bank they can stand behind, one that puts community and society first.
8. Groundswell
Groundswell is a nascent company with a vision to democratize employee giving, and it’s another company providing the functionality and service to other companies to support doing good. Its platform is intended to allow companies to make charitable giving a part of employee compensation. The company is the latest venture founded by Jake Wood, founder of Team Rubicon, another do good organization that brings together veterans to address disasters and humanitarian crises.
9. Dr. Bronner’s
One of the most respected B Corp companies out there, holding top honors for the last five years, Dr. Bronner’s leads in natural personal care products. This family-owned business has been around since 1858 (over 150 years!) and has had the idea of stakeholder capitalism as a central tenet, represented in the company’s “All-One!” tagline. With its iconic and trusted brand, the company is starting to apply its high standard operating principles to food categories, hoping its loyal following will follow.
10. Heath Ceramics
Founded in 1948, Heath Ceramics found new life with current husband-wife owners, Robin Petravic and Catherine Bailey, who bought the company and brought new life to its iconic designs and wares. They’ve been role models on how to manage a business with soul and heart and with care towards their design, employees, partners, and the community. Products are locally made. Employees have ownership in the business. Slow growth is acceptable. Beauty and craft are honored.
What can you do to raise your game and do it better taking into account all stakeholders?
Consumers and society continue to look towards brands to be responsible players in the world. Will you deliver for them? Find inspiration in these small companies. Where will you push to do it better?
Find last year’s report here. Learn the lessons on how to successfully deliver on stakeholder capitalism, not sacrificing profits or purpose, and start your journey towards becoming a Brand for Good. In the report, you’ll also find an Index to evaluate your own company against our criteria and give a roadmap for future brand building.
The Agency Oneto is a disciplined yet agile business and brand strategy agency whose mission is to partner with leaders to make a positive impact on their business and brands and for their consumers and teams, unlocking potential.
We do work in Business Strategy, Brand Strategy, Portfolio Strategy, Brand & Product Positioning, Brand Architecture, Marketing Strategy, Content Strategy, Innovation Strategy & Process, Consumer Insights, and Trend Studies.
We also lead workshops and facilitate strategy and business planning sessions, provide advisory services, and offer Executive Coaching.