B Corp certification will look a little bit different in the future.

B Labs, the company behind B Corp certification, updated its standards in April for certification following mounting criticism and an open letter from Dr. Bronner’s declaring it would not seek recertification. In response, the Dr. Bronner’s team reaffirmed it would not seek recertification based on its view that the new standards did not go far enough on evaluating third-party supply chains. The rest of the beauty industry’s response has been largely positive toward B Corp and the new standards, with some exceptions.

The new B Corp standards move away from a scoring system that some criticized would allow high scores in one area of business to compensate for lower scores in another section. Instead, B Corp certification now has foundational eligibility requirements and a mandatory risk assessment, which determines the number of due diligence sub-requirements. The standards are focused on seven areas, including climate action, human rights and government affairs, and collective action. The specific requirements that a company must fulfill depend on its size, sector, and industry, ranging from 20 to 124 requirements for certification. This is the seventh update to B Lab’s standards since B Lab began B Corp certification in 2007.

“By moving away from individual point scoring, the focus shifts to collective impact—aligning efforts across industries to tackle the world’s most urgent challenges together,” said Dr. Ellonda L. Williams, interim Co-Executive Director of B Lab U.S. & Canada, in a written statement to BeautyMatter.

Dr. Bronner’s open letter, published in February, took aim at the lack of required certification of all major supply chains, particularly those of multinational corporations like Nestlé-owned Nespresso, to credible eco-social certifications in order to be part of the certified B Corp community. Dr. Bronner’s notably has the highest B Corp score of 206.7, compared to the minimum score of 80 required to become a B Corp brand. Nespresso’s score by comparison is 84.3.

“The main problem in our opinion is that having a B Corp logo on a [consumer packaged good (CPG)] product or brand advertisement intrinsically conveys that products are produced in ways that are better for the planet in terms of agricultural practices,” said David Bronner, Chief Engagement Officer at Dr. Bronner’s, in a statement. “For a CPG company to be ‘better for the planet,’ the rubber meets the road with what is in products: how the ingredients are sourced and produced.”

As of 2024, there are over 9,300 B Corp-certified companies globally. That’s a 151% increase from 2020, demonstrating the popularity of the B Corp status. In addition to Dr. Bronner’s, other B Corp beauty brands include Sunday Riley, Aesop, and Pai Skincare.

According to B Labs, half of Americans aged 25 and younger are now familiar with B Corps as of 2024, and a 2023 study by B Lab Europe found 69% of people who are aware of B Corp said B Corp certification positively affected their purchasing decisions, either actively looking for them or using it to decide between products/services.

“There's so [much misinformation] happening right now, so consumers want something to anchor [their trust]. Like 'This is real. It's based on cosmetic science. It's based on transparency,'” said Kate Assaraf, founder of waterless haircare brand Dip.

Yet, Assaraf has opted not to seek third-party certification for Dip after a poor experience with a different certifying body, she said. After submitting proprietary information and paying a substantial fee in order to secure a certification, she discovered shortly thereafter that the certification program had ended without her being informed, and she was unable to recoup the full cost of the fee. 

“Because my perception of certifications is that they are a racket, I'm soured across the whole [idea],” she said.

Although Assaraf maintains that Dip is a sustainable brand, she said the brand leverages its retail partnerships, particularly the zero-waste and refill stores, to build trust with its consumer base. Dip is distributed at 500 brick-and-mortar locations across surf shops, hair salons, and zero-waste and refill stores.

But building consumer trust is not the only reason for brands to opt for B Corp certification. In the case of haircare brand Prose, which received B Corp certification in 2019, it was the desire to be accountable to an independent third party that compelled the company to join and stay. Its overall B Corp score is 90.7 and is up for recertification in 2026, which the team plans to pursue. 

“​​We see it as a vital part of how we hold ourselves accountable, socially, environmentally, and even community-wise; having this external standard, so it's not a marketing ploy. That is why we continue to support [B Corp certification],” said Helen Nwosu, Vice President of Social Impact at Prose.

Nwosu added that she approved of B Labs moving away from a scoring system where “everyone gets a gold star,” and that the new system promotes the creation of more holistic programs that can effect change. Prose is in the process now of evaluating its current and future business operations and where it will need to modify in order to adhere to the new B Corp standards. Prose also contributes to  grassroots organizations B Corp Beauty Coalition and B-Local, both of which are community groups of other B Corp-certified brands and involve community outreach and engagement, initiating advocacy, education, and policy actions.

“I will expect, sadly, to see some brands not able to meet the new standards, and I think that will take care of some of the concerns that we've seen in the past,” said Andrea Chase, Vice President of Corporate Responsibility and Social Impact at Arbonne and Co-Chair of the B Corp Beauty Coalition.

Much like Prose, Arbonne is also understanding where in its business operations it will have to make changes to adhere to the new standards. Arbonne’s B Corp score is 119.9. Because of the changes, Chase said B Labs will have to make a “cognizant investment” in explaining and promoting the value of a B Corp certification to brands, and she anticipates companies will have to significantly rejigger their operations and resources to measure items differently, make different decisions, and evaluate how much those decisions have financial implications.

“For B Lab to help folks be successful in this transition, [it] will need to provide resources, especially to smaller businesses that don't have the internal resources for measurement of these types of things,” she said. “For those that want to walk the path with us, it is a journey, to say the least.”