TOM BIHN
Washington, United States
November 2019
Sports goods
Manufacturing
United States
TOM BIHN has been designing and making backpacks and travel bags since 1972. All 48 of the crew at TOM BIHN — design, manufacturing, shipping, customer service, photography, web team — work in the same 16,000 square foot location in Seattle, Washington, USA. They collaborate, problem-solve and innovate in ways that are only made possible by sharing the same space. As a company, they believe it’s more fun to work together and that it results in a better designed, more thoroughly tested, and quality made backpack. Things to know about TOM BIHN: • The company is a design house, manufacturer, and direct retailer. • Their customers are thoughtful people who keep them on their toes by helping to refine and improve bag designs and the company itself. • The best quality materials (over 80% of which are bluesign and/or OEKO-TEX certified) are used to build a more durable bag. • In 2010, TOM BIHN became founding members of the UPS Carbon Neutral and UPS Eco Responsible Packaging Programs. • The company has a strong company philosophy centered around interrelatedness, empathy, patience, and self-reflection. • Over 50% of fabric scraps from the manufacturing process are utilized to make new designs. • TOM BIHN is operationally (scope 1, 2, 3 assessed and offset) carbon neutral.
Overall B Impact Score
Governance 17.2
Governance evaluates a company's overall mission, engagement around its social/environmental impact, ethics, and transparency. This section also evaluates the ability of a company to protect their mission and formally consider stakeholders in decision making through their corporate structure (e.g. benefit corporation) or corporate governing documents.
What is this? A company with an Impact Business Model is intentionally designed to create a specific positive outcome for one of its stakeholders - such as workers, community, environment, or customers.
Governance 17.2
Governance evaluates a company's overall mission, engagement around its social/environmental impact, ethics, and transparency. This section also evaluates the ability of a company to protect their mission and formally consider stakeholders in decision making through their corporate structure (e.g. benefit corporation) or corporate governing documents.
What is this? A company with an Impact Business Model is intentionally designed to create a specific positive outcome for one of its stakeholders - such as workers, community, environment, or customers.
Workers 21.6
Workers evaluates a company’s contributions to its employees’ financial security, health & safety, wellness, career development, and engagement & satisfaction. In addition, this section recognizes business models designed to benefit workers, such as companies that are at least 40% owned by non-executive employees and those that have workforce development programs to support individuals with barriers to employment.
Community 20.2
Community evaluates a company’s engagement with and impact on the communities in which it operates, hires from, and sources from. Topics include diversity, equity & inclusion, economic impact, civic engagement, charitable giving, and supply chain management. In addition, this section recognizes business models that are designed to address specific community-oriented problems, such as poverty alleviation through fair trade sourcing or distribution via microenterprises, producer cooperative models, locally focused economic development, and formal charitable giving commitments.
Environment 22.5
Environment evaluates a company’s overall environmental management practices as well as its impact on the air, climate, water, land, and biodiversity. This includes the direct impact of a company’s operations and, when applicable its supply chain and distribution channels. This section also recognizes companies with environmentally innovative production processes and those that sell products or services that have a positive environmental impact. Some examples might include products and services that create renewable energy, reduce consumption or waste, conserve land or wildlife, provide less toxic alternatives to the market, or educate people about environmental problems.
What is this? A company with an Impact Business Model is intentionally designed to create a specific positive outcome for one of its stakeholders - such as workers, community, environment, or customers.
Customers 3.7
Customers evaluates a company’s stewardship of its customers through the quality of its products and services, ethical marketing, data privacy and security, and feedback channels. In addition, this section recognizes products or services that are designed to address a particular social problem for or through its customers, such as health or educational products, arts & media products, serving underserved customers/clients, and services that improve the social impact of other businesses or organizations.