We are proud to announce that our parent company, Quality Bicycle Products, is now a Certified B Corporation.
What does that mean for us? As part of the QBP family, Salsa Cycles will continue to pursue the highest verified standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.
What does that mean for you? You can rest assured that we act in a way that benefits our workers, customers, community and the environment.
From Salsa's social media recently.
Interesting - I know Alpkit got B-Corp certified a while back. Alpkit import some products from Asia but I think of them as a company who make a lot of kit in the UK, offer repairs and have always had a 'small UK Patagonia' feel. I buy from them knowing they're good people who wouldn't put profit first when it comes to environmental impact. I'll pre-empt some comments on offering carbon frames from China in a range : ) I could agree, but that's also the point here with QBP.
QBP? Mass importers of Taiwan and China-made parts. I expect they're a great company to work for, no doubts there. With B-Corp having Patagonia and others like that as examples of their kind, I'm now wondering what sort of transparency of supplier audits they might have to show to justify this. I know a few of their suppliers and have worked with
/in a few factories they use. They're good companies and they'll be meeting the regulations they need to. China in particular has tightened up on a lot of processes that were allowed until only a couple of years ago and that changed how many parts are produced and finished. You still hear about the work-arounds though.
I can't say I've ever felt too great about the general business in terms of environmental effect. I know a chap over there who's got a doctorate in Environmental Science and his take on manufacturing there is that it may be done legally but the regs have to allow competitive practices ie shortcuts, they have to be workable economically. That's accepted and what we all do changes in a way that's viable rather than shuts things down completely.
What's my point? That B-Corp is about leading change and that's good to see. QBP are doing the right thing. If a company who manufacture a lot of non-recyclable product overseas (carbon frames and forks, e-bikes batteries, etc) can get this certification that's good - I hope the transparency that B-Corp talk about does help create change along the supply chain. I'm not going to knee-jerk and say you can't be an ethical importer from Asia, it's more about interest in what effect this could have. If it's worth anything I'm sure we'll see signs of it?
About B Corps
Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.
Society’s most challenging problems cannot be solved by government and non-profits alone. By harnessing the power of business, B Corps use profits and growth as a means to a greater end: positive impact for their employees, communities, and the environment. The B Corp community works toward reduced inequality, lower levels of poverty, a healthier environment, stronger communities, and the creation of more high quality jobs with dignity and purpose.
B Corps form a community of leaders and drive a global movement of people using business as a force for good. The values and aspirations of the B Corp community are embedded in the B Corp Declaration of Interdependence.
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