Our Impact

We are a Social Enterprise, with a Profit with Purpose business model. This means that we hold our Social and Environmental Impacts as important as we hold making a profit. We are unique in that we are a company limited by shares, but we have a self-imposed asset lock on our profits, and a social lock on our mission. We feel all businesses should operate in this way - by considering the impact their products have on the environment, on making their customer’s lives better, as well as the bottom line.

Our Impact Report will be available at the end of 2022.

Impact Measurement

In our commitment to sustainable practices, we have teamed up with Low Carbon Devon to meticulously evaluate our carbon footprint. The scope of our collaboration involves an exhaustive 'cradle-to-grave' life cycle assessment of our products. Beyond this, the project will shine a light on potential carbon reduction strategies, pinpointing areas of enhancement across short, medium, and long-term timelines.

Social Impact

Bshirt's Social Enterprise thrives on its dedication to bolstering women's confidence in breastfeeding. The feedback from our community has been overwhelmingly positive:

• 84% of 1,500 customers surveyed felt more confident feeding in front of others while wearing their Bshirt.
• 79% of women we surveyed found breastfeeding easier while wearing their Bshirt.
• 68% reported reduced social isolation and improved mental health as a result of being able to breastfeed in public whenever necessary, with minimised stress and embarrassment.
• 80% of our customers report they want to be part of the Circular Economy
• 90% report that ethical clothes are too expensive and they are interested in renting as an alternative to buying for economic and environmental reasons.

Environmental Impact

Our commitment to the environment manifests in several ways:

• Shifting to recycled cotton, we significantly cut down our CO2 emissions and curtail water consumption.
• Our clothing rental initiative further curbs emissions and water use.
• By recycling worn-out garments into fibres, we are staunchly against contributing to landfill waste.
• To ensure transparency and accuracy in our environmental endeavors, we will ally with specialist organizations. These collaborations will facilitate in-depth analyses of our emissions and water usage, comparing the metrics before and after our transition to circular fashion.

Manufacturing Impact 

The 2021 Thredup Resale Report by GlobalData highlighted stark contrasts in the environmental impacts of new versus used garments:

• Carbon Emissions (lb of CO2e) stands at 21.1 for new garments and drops to 3.7 for used ones.
• Energy Demand (kW of Energy) is registered at 38.8 for new clothing but a mere 4.8 for used items.
• Water consumption measures at 78.5 gallons for new apparel, plummeting to just 1.2 gallons for used ones.

This data underscores our commitment to a sustainable future, driving us to champion preloved fashion and curb our ecological footprint.