BOROBABI, America’s first circular retailerTM, Earns Coveted B Corp Certification

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Female-owned startup Borobabi, America’s 1^st circular retailer^TM, is proud to announce it has incorporated as a Public Benefit Corporation and has earned its status as a Certified B Corporation®, or B Corp^TM, joining a global movement of leaders that use, and redefine, business as a force for good. As a clothing company that rewards customers for re-circulating their sustainable children’s apparel brands through the company, Borobabi’s B Corp^TM status publicly signals that the company is committed to making a profound environmental and social difference, safeguarding people and the planet, and meeting higher standards of transparency, performance, and accountability.

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The circular retailer provides a unique borrow or buy model, whereby parents acquire and keep items until children outgrow them or they’re out of season (on average 4 mo.), then subsequently rewards customers for returning and re-use. Borobabi’s circularity model optimizes the inputs, usage and end-of-life of each garment it offers. This idea is a drastic shift from the “take-make-waste” linear manufacturing we all currently know.

“Achieving B Corp^TM Certification is a powerful recognition and true testament to our innovative team and our mission-driven culture,” states Borobabi CEO Carolyn Butler. “But this is just the beginning. Going forward, our certification will also provide a roadmap for ongoing improvements to our business and our impact, and it allows us to embed positive environmental and social impact into our legal status. Being a B Corp^TM means not only caring for the planet, but putting it first in our processes and decisions. We know business can make a big difference.”

B Lab®, the nonprofit certifying organization, scored Borobabi’s Impact Business Model especially well in two environmental sections vital to circularity—toxicity, with a majority of their products certified to an organic or other standard (GOTS, OEKO-TEX, etc.), and conservation, as Borababi keeps products in use longer through their rental model. Additionally, not only is the company female-owned, but over 75% of the executive team are women, and 87% of the entire team identify as female.

Eugene Castagna, former President and COO of Bed Bath & Beyond, Borobabi Advisory board member and investor, says, “Rarely have I seen a new business with such fiscal potential while also being so positively mission-driven for what the world needs now. They are a model for climate change- and equity-focused efforts through business. Borobabi is truly poised for success and others should look to them, and especially to CEO Carolyn Butler, going forward as a model and resource.”

Borobabi was founded by Butler, a chemical engineer, who recognized an opportunity to save money and protect the planet through supply chain utilization. According to the U.S Environmental Protection Agency, the main source of American textile waste is discarded clothing. On average, parents spend more than $700 each year on kids’ clothes, only to see them grow out of them within months, resulting in 63 million pounds of clothing going into landfill daily. And while donating is important, it is not the solution:  The Council for Textile Recycling says that overall, charities sell only 20 percent of the clothing donated to them at their retail outlets.

Since its 2020 founding, Borobabi has saved 39 metric tons of CO2 emissions, 10.7 million gallons of water and two metric tons of virgin cotton by keeping clothes in circulation and thereby reducing the need to grow materials and make new garments. When new garments are introduced, they come from brands that are committed to sourcing fibers that are farmed using organic agricultural practices.

CEO Butler was recognized by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation as a “Circular Economy Pioneer,” in 2020, and Borobabi was featured as one of several purpose-driven businesses in the 2021 release of Circular Economy for Dummies (Wiley Publishing).

“At Borobabi, we believe every family should have access to ethically and sustainably crafted – and beautiful – clothing. Our natural and organic clothing gets used to its fullest potential by our network of families, and we work hard to take responsibility for the full lifecycle of our elevated childrenswear. We recycle and compost our brands to avoid the harms of landfilling, because it’s our mission to ensure the health of our planet for generations to come,” says Butler.

For the B Lab® rigorous evaluation process, Borobabi answered more than 224 questions about its business practices and had those answers verified by B Lab, scoring an overall 91.2 points, compared to the minimum standard needed for certification of 80 points.

As of February 2022, there are over 4,600 Certified B Corporations from 155 industries in 75+ countries with one unifying goal – to redefine success in business. B Corporations are not ‘green businesses’, nor ‘responsible businesses’; they are Certified B Corporations. The performance standards B Corps meet are comprehensive, transparent and verified. Unlike traditional corporations, Certified B Corporations are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions not only on their shareholders, but also on their stakeholders (e.g., workers, suppliers, community, consumers, and the environment).