Death of the B-Corp

All brands have to be socially and environmentally responsible

Sustainability, transparency, and responsible production are buzzwords that make reality.

They are tightly paired with the modern affluent consumers’ aspiration of doing good through their actions. Ace & Tate, an eyewear brand, recently published a self-critical post “Look, we f*cked up. Our bad moves” in the effort to share its journey towards a more responsible business and the mistakes it made along the way.

This is an admirable effort turned into a trend.

2020 forced brands to go through the crash course in social responsibility. The picture was grim. Crises — like a global pandemic and social unrest — tell the truth about a company. They expose organizational and operational strengths and weaknesses. They challenge leadership. They bring on business disruption, revenue drops, layoffs, and the pressure to reduce expenses and find new ways of making money.

Crises also offer a creative toolbox. They force thinking and acting differently, and force businesses to address problems in new ways. In the process, a business may stumble upon a great new idea, discover an unexpected revenue stream, take a risk it was too cautious to consider before or find a way to be closer to the community it serves. They can also find a PR-able mantra.