We’re Proud to be a B Corporation!
Change is afoot. And we’re thrilled! After 24 years in business, we humbly acknowledge that it’s a bit harder to see our own brand’s label from being “inside the bottle.”
Brand Fuel has been on an ongoing quest to be “an original” in our commoditized industry. We have been on a 24-year educational and enlightening adventure to address our customers’ ever-changing challenges.
We have a revitalized focus on quality branded merchandise – that lasts. Merch that tells a story with passion. On time. On budget. And on brand. Merch that is safe. Merch that is personal. Merch that impacts the world in a positive way.
Yet, we are headed in a more-focused direction!
We feel it in our gut that we want to help lead disruption in our industry in the best of ways. Here’s our question zero:
“What if branded merchandise was a force for good?”
How will we be a force for good?
We recognize that to do anything impactful, we will need to do the hard work of earning trust. And to be a trusted partner…
- We need to be credible as well as capable.
- We need to better understand who our customers truly are and assess what they want and need. “Strategy First. Product Second” is our calling card there. And we hope we can earn their trust with strategic thinking, by challenging our clients to purchase smartly through online store programs and initiatives like phygital marketing.
- We need to continue to be as much a tech company as we are a branded merch agency.
- We must sell quality, safe products.
- We must be good stewards of our industry and our communities.
- We must have high ethical standards.
- We must take care of our staff.
- Our work is not about what we say; it is about what we do. And what we do is what will define us. To show versus to say.
Becoming a Certified B Corp is our grandest initiative and representation of company pride!
Our work as a B Corp will be our guidepost for everything. From hiring practices to the responsible sourcing of sustainable branded merch and everything in between. This part of our journey as a B Corp will be a mixture of effort, education, dedication, patience, consistency, humility, focus, making hard but important choices and even having some fun.
And in case you were wondering: What is the B Corp Certification?
Brand Fuel is now B Corp Certified for high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials. To achieve certification, we had to:
- Demonstrate high social and environmental performance by achieving a B Impact Assessment score of 80 (we received an 87.1%) or above, and passing B Lab’s risk review.
- Make a legal commitment by changing our corporate governance structure to be accountable to all stakeholders, not just shareholders, and achieve benefit corporation status.
- Exhibit transparency by allowing information about our performance to be measured against B Lab’s standards and have it be publicly available on B Lab’s website.
This video breaks down the B Corp Movement:
So, what’s in it for our clients?
We are at our best when there is a symbiotic relationship with our clients.
Our vision for our clients includes a future with stronger impacts and outcomes that help promote our clients’ purposes to the world. Our B Corp Certification will help with measurement and validation. Please stay tuned for an even more vigilant focus on sustainable products and services like Phygital Marketing that will deliver impact, ROI and ROC (Return on Community)!
WHY are we headed in this direction?
Our industry is commoditized in an unhealthy way – with a reliance on cheap products from China. Yet, we are on a mission to feature alternatives – made from sustainable materials that last – so your brand and messaging lasts.
Our Promise.
- We will crush our nemesis – brandfill: branded merch that ends up in the landfill.
- We will push clients to offer their end-users choice. Choice is the first, easiest, and perhaps the most impactful step towards Sustainability: what gets used stays out of the landfill.
- We will be in the business of impact.
- We will express our values as a business differentiator.
- We will find clients that share our values.
- We will embrace “no-ing” and pass on opportunities that compete with our values.
- We will provoke strategic thinking and be gritty and bold.
- We will release fresh ideas early and often and retain a high threshold for pain.
- We will ask ourselves the question: “Will this end up in the landfill?”
- We will ask ourselves the question: “Would we wear, use or want this product?”
- We will focus on inspiration to the top versus a race to the bottom.
- We will stoke the fire of curiosity.
- We will ensure responsible sourcing to help create an industry halo effect.
- We will move clients from problem to possibility to journey.
Here are some of the actions we will manifest:
Our high standards will continue to serve as the foundation for everything we do.
Thank you in advance for celebrating with us and holding us accountable. Now, the hard and super important work of true business legacy begins.
Your friends at,
