Kathmandu has been certified as a
B Corporation, making it one of the largest outdoor apparel and gear
brands globally to do so. The outdoor and adventure
brand is the first publicly listed B Corp in New Zealand and the first
outdoor apparel and equipment retailer in both Australia and New Zealand
to become part of the global ethical business movement for a more
sustainable and inclusive economy.
B Corp is an initiative from B Lab, a non-profit that serves a
global movement of people using business as a force for good. The B
Corp assessment process measures a company’s performance in five
categories: governance, workers, customers, community and the environment.
In the B Corp certification Kathmandu was awarded high scores in the Workers, Environment
and Community sections of the certification, said the company, a
direct result of Kathmandu’s ongoing work in preferred fibres and
materials, as well as protecting the rights of employees in
their supply chain.
Globally there are more than 3,000 companies that have become B
Corps after completing the certification process. Per capita, Australia
and New Zealand are growing B Corps faster than any other region,
with nearly 300 B Corps.
“Kathmandu’s announcement as New Zealand’s first B Corp-certified multinational
retail business, and Australasia’s biggest B Corp, is a significant
milestone for Australia, New Zealand and the wider B Corp movement,” said
B Lab Australia & New Zealand CEO, Andrew Davies. “Certification is open to
all sizes of business, and we are seeing increasing interest from large
corporations across the world, Kathmandu’s certification sends an
important signal for other big businesses to follow in their lead.”
