B Lab is a nonprofit organization dedicated to using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.
©Copyright 2012 B Lab. All rights reservedAbout UncommonGoods
UncommonGoods is an online and catalog retailer of creatively designed, high quality, and affordable products. They combine the treasures of a specialty boutique, the great finds of a craft show, discoveries from a faraway bazaar, along with some enduring classics. UncommonGoods offers an exciting selection of products for the home, as well as an assortment of distinctive personal accessories, with more categories to follow.
We have been focused on the issue of sustainability since our founding in 1999. B Corporation appears to have struck an insightful balance between the realities of business and each of the key components of sustainability - including human resources, environment, community, financial, and governance. We want to learn from the questions that are asked and from the practices of other B Corporations in order to continue to improve in these areas.
They are committed to making the UncommonGoods shopping experience enjoyable in every way. Their engaging and intuitive interface informs shoppers about the quality, cultural significance, production method and style of their product, and tells the wonderful stories of the artisans who make their products. Their customers know why the items they are buying are special. In addition to providing unique items of outstanding quality, they endeavor to feature merchandise created in harmony with the environment and without harm to animals or people.
The Change We Seek®
We recognize that people are looking for ways to express their individuality and creativity when shopping, a major challenge in today's chain store-dominated retail environment. We have set out to create a business that makes uncommon goods accessible to everyone. In doing this, we want to make the world a better place in whatever way we can.
• To us, sustainability means more than just being "green." We believe sustainability starts with integrity in everything we do, treating each individual inside and outside our company with dignity and respect, offering health insurance to all our full-time (and most part-time) employees and providing a living wage.
• We're committed to offering you a creative and exciting merchandise assortment and are working with our suppliers - from artists to small manufacturers - to make their products in a more socially and environmentally responsible manner. Since we started our business, we have featured products that contain recycled components and we ask that all the items we sell are produced without harm to animals. We don't sell products containing leather, feathers or fur.
• We are an Internet and catalog company, and we understand that by producing a catalog we use the earth's resources. We try our best to minimize that impact by shifting more business online, limiting how many catalogs we mail, and printing our catalogs on either recycled paper (virtually all of which is from 30% post-consumer waste) or paper sourced from FSC certified forests (which are harvested in a sustainable manner).
• We have launched a program called “Better to Give”, where we give our customers the opportunity to have UncommonGoods contribute to a non-profit organization each time they shop with us.
Founding B Corporation
UncommonGoods
- Industry: Online Marketplace
- Product/Services: Handmade, Small Production Gifts - Home Accents, Jewelry, Tabletop, Games/Books
- Location: Brooklyn, NY
- Ownership: Private
- http://www.uncommongoods.com
Summary:
Certified: May 2007| Points Earned | % Points Available | |
|---|---|---|
| Accountability » | 10.1 | 71% |
| Employees » | 34.9 | 59% |
| Consumers » | 16.5 | 47% |
| Community » | 26.8 | 55% |
| Environment » | 12.3 | 62% |
| Composite B Score | 100.6 |
- >80 out of 200 is eligible for certification
- >60% points available = Area of excellence
Highlights:
From B Impact AssessmentEnvironment: >51% recycled office supplies; >5% of energy saved via conservation; incentives to encourage low-impact commutes
Employees: 100% of employees offered reimbursement for continued education; 100% of employees paid living wage; >6% of profits included in profit sharing plan; >80% of individual health insurance premiums covered; 6+ weeks paid maternity leave; >50% of employees share ownership in company
Community: >20% of expenditures directed toward local suppliers; >10% of suppliers located in low-income communities; >20% of management from previously excluded populations; >50% of employees are women; >30% of employees from low-income communities; >10% of net profits given to charitable institutions