Bare Kind is a B Corp Certified Business
As of October 2023, Bare Kind is pleased to announce that we are a B Corp Certified Business.
What does this mean?
As a B Corp, we are part of a global community of businesses that meet high standards of social and environmental impact. The B Corp certification does not mean that we are perfect, nor that we have achieved our highest impact yet.
It shows that Bare Kind is part of this global community of businesses working collectively for economic systems change, and that in order to stay committed to this work we must meet rising standards for social and environmental performance.
You can find out more about our B Corp qualification on our profile.
Updates to Our Sustainability Journey
In being B Corp certified, we are now committed to improving our social and environmental impact, and being held publicly accountable for that.
One of the key commitments we made once we became certified, was to become carbon neutral as a company. We are very pleased to announce that we have achieved this goal!
We are Carbon Neutral
Our overall emissions for the year were 51.66 tonnes, 12.91 tonnes per employee.
Now we know our impact, we can implement carbon reduction plan. Measuring is just the beginning, but it gives us a baseline from which to improve on.
We have offset our unavoidable emissions for the year, making us a carbon neutral business! This is the badge we get for our status as an A Level company for our carbon emissions.
Saving animals drives us. Joyful socks inspire us. Responsible business defines us.
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Saving Animals
We donate 10% of the profits from every pair to save the animal on those socks.
Each pair is partnered with an animal conservation or rescue charity that helps save the very species on the sock. You can check out our charities here.
Over the years we have seen some incredible results in partnering with charities on our socks, you can see the most recent charity impact reports here.
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Joyful Socks
Socks are our muse.
We love socks.
We want our customers to love our socks the most.
That is why have spent years formulating the perfect sock for our customers.
Our socks are made with durabilty in mind. You can read more about the technical aspects of our socks here.
And more importantly they are made with your joy in mind, backed by over 1,000 5 star reviews!
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Responsibly Sourcing Our Socks
We take sustainability and ethics seriously at Bare Kind by ensuring our products are made in factories that have the highest credentials.
We only work with yarn suppliers, manufacturers and warehouses that share our high ethical and eco-standards.
Protecting and Investing in Our Future
Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth, and it’s extremely significant in our fight against climate change.
Different species play important roles in maintaining the health and stability of their respective ecosystems. And each species plays it’s own vital role in regulating the earth’s climate, such as plants removing CO2 from the atmosphere.
The decline of species on this planet is a growing concern. Human activities such as habitat destruction, overexploitation, pollution, and climate change are driving many species towards extinction. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the global wildlife population has declined by 69% since 1970. It is important that we take action to address the drivers of species decline and protect the diversity of life on Earth.
Bamboo Sourcing
Our socks are made from bamboo, giving them incredible benefits for your feet which you cab read all about here.
Bamboo is actually the fastest growing plant in the world. This means it has high yields! It can also be chopped down to the base without disturbing the roots and grow back time and time again.
We don’t use any bamboo that’s growing in natural forests where pandas live. The bamboo we use is sourced from a certified, 100% sustainably grown bamboo forest. The factory that works with this bamboo is Level 3 out of 3 on the STeP OEKO-TEX certificate. In other words, it is listed as having ‘Ideal implementation in the sense of Best Practice examples.’ It also holds the OEKO-TEX 100 standard for non-toxic dyes in the finished product.
Ethical Factories Around the World
We choose our factories based on price, labor practices, and environmental impact. We only work with factories that are SEDEX or BSCI audited. This means that they pay fair wages to their workers, have good working conditions, and don’t hire child laborers.
The manufacturers we work all scored Level 2 out of 3 the STep OEKO-TEX certificate for:
- Chemicals Management
- Environmental Performance
- Environmental Management
- Social Responsibility
- Quality Management
- Health protection
- Safety at work
This level means that they have ‘Good Implementation’ of the above measures with potential to optimize even more.
Working With the Best in the World
The manufacturers we work with are based in Turkey, India and China. The location of our manufacturing isn’t confirmation of ethical and environmental standards being met or not. Which is why we ensure that all of our manufacturers are independently verified.
Additionally, we use a Gold Standard offset to achieve 100% carbon neutral status for every stage in our supply chain. For context, this is the highest level of certification you can have for carbon offsetting.
Warehouse Standards and Delivery
Our warehouse is run on 100% renewable power and pays a London living wage. We reduce our carbon footprint by prioritising sea freight over lorry shipments and lorry shipments over air freight when getting our socks delivered from the manufacturers.
We mostly use Royal Mail to deliver orders. They earned the reputation of having the ‘Lowest reported carbon emissions per parcel of any UK delivery company’. This was made possible by the fact that they have a network of 90,000 posties walking up and down delivering parcels across the country.
Plastic-Free Packaging
All our socks are packaged in 100% plastic-free materials. We use certified sustainable cardboard for the outer packaging of all orders. What’s more, our protective sock sleeves are also made from corn starch. This means that they can biodegrade in 180 days when they are buried in the ground.
What About Recycling?
Since most people don’t buy secondhand socks, we strive to make our animal socks long-lasting and hard-wearing. These bamboo socks are made to last and last. But if for whatever reason our customers need new socks, we encourage them to reuse their old socks. Think sock puppets, dog chew toys, and hair ties.
We're Always Learning
We're all about reducing our impact on the planet. We try our best to keep our production process as sustainable as possible, but we know there's always room for improvement.
We're always open to ideas and suggestions from you, our customers, because we're not perfect and we're always looking for ways to do better. Whether it's finding new eco-friendly materials or improving our manufacturing practices, we're committed to doing our part for the planet.
Our ultimate goal is to be a company that not only produces high-quality bamboo socks but also operates in a way that prioritises the health and well-being of our planet.
Bare Kind x Sal's Shoes
We are proud to support Sal’s Shoes, a charity dedicated to providing shoes to children in need around the world. We donate bamboo socks to be shared along with the shoes they give out. As part of our commitment to making a positive impact, we give out these charity socks to ensure that kids not only receive shoes but also have the essential socks to keep their feet warm and comfortable. It’s our way of spreading a little extra kindness and making a difference in the lives of children who need it most.
We also donate to Goods for Good where lots of different charities get to receive our bamboo socks and hand them out to the people that really need them. We aim to have them delivered early enough so the charities can hand them out during their Christmas parties. Each pair of animal bamboo socks goes a long way in putting a smile on many faces around the world.
