Good Karma Socials

B Corp certification has been marketed as the gold standard for ethical business. That little logo is supposed to signal that a company balances profit with purpose, caring for people and the planet. But increasingly, it looks less like a badge of honour and more like a PR stunt.

The problem? It’s too easy to achieve. Companies only need 80 out of 200 points on the B Impact Assessment to pass. That means big players can cherry-pick easy wins—like recycling bins in the office or staff volunteer days—while ignoring the much larger impacts of their operations. It gives the appearance of responsibility without requiring deep, systemic change.

Take Nespresso. Yes, the single-use coffee pod giant is a B Corp. This, despite ongoing criticism about the environmental damage of aluminium pods and coffee supply chain issues. Or look at Evian, a certified B Corp, yet still selling billions of single-use plastic bottles every year. These aren’t fringe companies trying their best; they’re global corporations whose entire business models are fundamentally unsustainable. And yet, they get to wear the B Corp badge.

The backlash is growing. In 2022, more than 30 B Corps and business groups, including Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, signed an open letter protesting Nespresso’s certification, accusing the coffee giant of an “abysmal track record on human rights from child labour and wage theft to abuse of factory workers.” The letter also accused B Lab, the organisation behind B Corp, of “greenwashing” by allowing multinationals to “do the bare minimum” to qualify. Separately, unions and consumer groups have called on B Lab to decertify companies following lawsuits and complaints about labour violations and even human trafficking. Some certified B Corps have also been accused of engaging in multilevel marketing schemes and predatory lending, hardly the hallmarks of ethical business.

This is where certification slips into ethics-washing. Instead of being a mark of real commitment, B Corp status is used as a marketing tool to lure eco-conscious consumers. The message is, “We’re one of the good guys, trust us.” But when consumers dig deeper and see the contradictions, trust erodes not only in the company but in the certification itself.

For small, purpose-driven businesses, this is infuriating. Independent brands who genuinely live and breathe sustainability pour time, money, and energy into doing things right. Yet they end up in the same category as corporates gaming the system. The result? Customers lose trust, and certifications lose meaning.

At Good Karma Socials, we believe doing the right thing should be the baseline, not a marketing ploy. Real ethics can’t be bought; they have to be lived every day.