What I’ve learnt about B Corp…

I attended the Business for Good Festival as an undergraduate student at the University of Leeds, studying BA Fashion Design.  

To be in a room full of purpose-driven and likeminded people as somebody that wants to launch a career in the field, was truly inspiring.  

The B Corp movement has truly resonated with me whilst undertaking my final year dissertation. It was something that I had heard of, but from further in-depth research and hearing the stories from the Business for Good Festival, I have grown to admire it so much more.  

The morning was filled with talks from B Corp experts, and I had not been in the presence of such passionate people beforehand. The care that the speakers exuded during their talks was amazing.

In the afternoon, I sat in on Donna Okell’s workshop ‘The Journey to B Corp – Navigating the B Impact Assessment’ and learnt so much about the ins and outs of the BIA. Little did I know, any business can use it for free! I then moved on to Ben Tolhurst’s workshop ‘Practical Guidance for Businesses to take Bolder Action: from decarbonising to activism’. This was super inspiring as it looked at the bones of what company’s should and could be doing – it also encouraged lots of debate amongst the group.  

However, one of my favourite parts of the day was seeing the AmaSing children perform. I wasn’t expecting to be so tearful afterwards! It offered such a different perspective into climate change. By the end of the day, I became so inspired by the way that businesses have adopted the B Corp movement to do better and be better for the planet.  

It is a space that is attracting much more attention, and to me that is super exciting. I would love to be able to follow the likes of the members and speakers at the Business for Good festival – it was a true inspiration.

As a fashion design student, I realise that it is even more important to tap into the B Corp movement. The fashion industry is extremely damaging, and there is an opening for responsible business and innovation.

We’re in the midst of a super critical time, and a pivotal time for change, and I’m choosing to look at this as an opportunity.

I’m looking forward to seeing what UK for Good does in the future and seeing everybody again next year!