Australian suiting brand M.J. Bale is now B Corp certified, securing a maiden score of 84.2.
M.J. Bale’s score is 4.2 points above the qualifying score of 80 and more than 30 points above the median score of 50.9 for all ordinary businesses.
Run by global non-profit organisation B Lab, the B Corp certification covers five key areas across environmental social governance (ESG), including governance, workers, community, environment and customers.
The menswear label scored highest in environment, with a score of 24.6, which includes a boost of 5.7 points in land/wildlife conservation.
It also scored high in workers at 22.4, followed by community at 17.7, governance at 16.9, and customers at 2.3.
“On behalf of all stakeholders, including our staff, board and network of partners, I am incredibly proud that we have attained the B-Corp certification,” M.J. Bale founder and CEO Matt Jensen said.
“The certification is not an end in itself; we consider it more a baseline for us to continue to improve in all aspects related to our corporate governance and relationships with staff, community, environment and customers.”
Founded in 2009, M.J. Bale has an 86-store national network, including shop-in-shops in David Jones and Myer.
The brand is the Official Tailor to the Australian Test cricket team, Subway Socceroos, Wallabies, and the Kangaroos.
In 2021, M.J. Bale became the first Australian fashion brand to be Climate Active-certified as carbon neutral for both products and organisation. It is currently renewing both its Climate Active certifications.
In the same year, M.J. Bale produced what is understood to be the world’s first methane-reduced wool at its Kingston partner farm in Tasmania, and in conjunction with Sea Forest Tasmania. The commercial trial, which ran for 300 consecutive days, saw 48 Merino sheep fed a food supplement containing asparagopsis taxiformis, a native red seaweed proven by the CSIRO to reduce methane emissions in ruminant livestock by more than 80 per cent.
The 15-year-old brand joins 8,000 other B Corp certified businesses across the globe, with over 1,000 of those in Australia and New Zealand. B Corp certified businesses in Australia and New Zealand’s fashion sector include KMD Brands, Modibodi, P.E Nation, Bassike, Kowtow Clothing and Boody.
B Corp scores are revised every three years as part of a recertification process.