Los Angeles-based Good American joins the ranks of sustainable denim brands like Mud Jeans and Outland Denim with its new B Corporation status. The brand announced the accomplishment this month, marking its commitment to using its business as a force for good.
Certified B Corporations meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability. Administered by the nonprofit B Lab, B Corp certification involves rigorous assessment of a company’s impact on its workers, customers, community and environment, and is only awarded to those that can verifiably demonstrate a commitment to balance profits with social and environmental purpose.
Since launching in 2016, Good American has been a champion of size inclusivity, providing extended sizing and showcasing an array of plus-sized models during a time when other brands weren’t.
But aside from its disruptive body-positive ethos, it’s also been a quiet leader in sustainability. The brand uses a drop model to sell small quantities of products and eliminate wasteful inventory. On the product level, it features environmentally friendlier fibers such as recycled and organic cotton, recycled T400, EcoVero and Repreve in all of its denim, and uses degradable bags for shipment packaging.
The brand’s innovation in sizing has also led to more sustainable production practices. Good American’s Always Fits denim is sold in five size categories, (00-4, 6-12, 14-18, 20-26, and 28-32), that replace traditional sizing and reduce the need for inventory across the full size range. As a result of this line, the brand was able to cut production by 75 percent.
Good American also partnered with Turkish denim mill Calik Denim to use its Denethic technology, a wash process that slashes water usage by 15 to 44 percent depending on the wash type: rinse-wash, rinse and enzyme-wash, or bleached. Working with sustainable supply chain partners helps further lessen the brand’s environmental impact.
Good American joins other B Corps such as Allbirds, Eileen Fisher, Patagonia, Toms, Vestiaire Collective and, more recently, Chloé. Today, there are more than 3,500 B Corps across 70 countries. Each is required to go through a recertification process every three years, including a possible on-site audit.
