Anyone can print a green leaf on a label. That's exactly why independent certifications exist – and why it's worth knowing what each one actually checks before you let it guide your shopping. In this article we take one specific label apart: the Certified B Corporation seal that SuperBee carries. You'll learn who awards it, how the scoring works and, just as importantly, where its limits are.
A certification for companies, not products
Most labels you meet while shopping certify a thing: this cotton, that ingredient, this packaging. B Corp works differently. It looks at the company as a whole – how it treats its people, its suppliers, its neighbours and the environment. So the seal on a beeswax wrap tells you nothing about the wrap itself; it tells you something about the business that made it.
The certification is run by B Lab, a nonprofit founded in the United States in 2006. Its starting point is a simple question: what if companies were measured not only by their profits, but by their impact on everyone they touch?
The five areas under the microscope
To get certified, a company works through the B Impact Assessment, a detailed questionnaire covering five areas:
- Governance: Is the mission anchored in how the company is actually run? How transparent is it about decisions and finances?
- Workers: Pay, safety, benefits and training – how well does the company look after the people who do the work?
- Community: What does the company give back to its surroundings, from local jobs to fair dealings with suppliers?
- Environment: How does it handle materials, energy, water and waste – and does it measure and reduce its footprint?
- Customers: Does what the company sells create genuine value, and are customers treated honestly?
The 80-point bar
Every answer earns points, and 80 points is the line a company must cross to be certified. Reaching it is not a matter of ticking boxes: B Lab reviews the answers, requests documentation and digs into the details. For comparison, ordinary businesses that complete the assessment score a median of 50.9 points – so the bar sits well above business as usual.
Two more things separate B Corp from a one-off audit. Certified companies commit legally to considering all their stakeholders, not just their owners. And the certification expires: every three years, a B Corp has to go through recertification with fresh evidence. On top of that, the score and profile of every certified company are public – you can look any of them up on bcorporation.net.
What the seal can and can't tell you
Here's the honest summary. What it tells you: this company opened its practices to an independent review, cleared a demanding threshold and has to keep proving it. What it doesn't tell you: whether a specific product is right for you, or that the company behind it is flawless. The assessment verifies statements and evidence at a point in time; it isn't a permanent inspector on the workshop floor. Treat it as a strong signal – not a substitute for your own judgement.
Where SuperBee stands
SuperBee has been a Certified B Corporation since April 2023, listed as "SuperBee, by BeeConscious Co. Ltd." with a score of 81.7 points. By the company's own account, getting through the assessment took around two years. The entry is public, so you're welcome to check it yourself.
Behind that number are everyday practices rather than abstract policies: the products are handmade in Northern Thailand, wages are 20% above the living wage recommended by the Fair Trade Association, and the beeswax in the wraps comes from a local beekeepers' cooperative – you can read the whole story of our beeswax here.
For us, the certification is less a trophy than a recurring exam – one we have to sit again every three years. If you'd like to know what drives SuperBee beyond the label, have a look at Why SuperBee.
