Spinster Sisters is now a public benefit corporation

If the most important thing you know about Spinster Sisters is where to hide your favorite scent of Body Butter that your family keeps stealing, cheers! If you're also familiar with us as a business, you probably know how obsessed we are about doing right by people and the planet. And, if you know what a public benefit corporation is, you could have understandably assumed we have been one all along. Surprise! We weren't, but we are now! 

Sustainable, ethical, mission-driven

Our founder Kelly is from Boulder, Colorado, and she identifies as a hippy at heart to this day. When she founded the company in 2012, she wanted to make soap that was better for herself and her loved ones; while ditching triclosan-laden soap and other products that contained harmful ingredients. After starting as a seed operating out of Kelly's solar-powered basement, this little soap company blossomed into a natural skincare brand in full bloom with its own Microsoapery that operates completely on wind and solar power.

Every step of the way, Kelly kept her hippy heart happy by making business choices that didn't just create clean, effective products, but did right by people and the planet. One of the first buds that grew from that little seed was the Spinster Sisters mission. Kelly had sustainability in mind from the start, and with each choice she made - from ingredients to packaging to production - that mission strengthened and grew right along with the business as more people were brought into the team.

Why switch now?

Things were going pretty well, so why switch to a Public Benefit Corporation now? For Kelly, it was an obvious step now that the business has grown. 

“With such a lean team, this just didn't jump out as a priority for our time since we figured our mission was already a public benefit. But we've been working towards becoming a certified B-Corp and now that we're so close I can taste it, I can’t believe we didn’t do this sooner. Helping to sustain a healthier planet where our employees, customers, and living beings everywhere can live and thrive has always been a priority for me.” -- Kelly Perkins, founder/CEO

Even back in 2016, you can hear in an interview with Kelly by Xcel Energy that choosing wind power and making sustainability a priority has always been a key message for Spinster Sisters. Hippy is as hippy does, so placing increased focus on the company’s mission-driven promises to people and the planet is another great step to take on this path of growth. With a company already so purposeful, this change may not make a splashy impact, but it will allow Spinster Sisters to better showcase its core values so we can be even more transparent with employees, customers, and investors alike.

Why become a public benefit corporation at all?

Taking this step demonstrates the leadership the whole team already appreciates in Kelly, and puts her in league with leaders of other companies that made the same choice, like Patagonia and Kickstarter. It is a growing movement and being at the forefront only increases its impact and value.

Whether we’re attracting customers, talented team members, or investors, having the status of a public benefit corporation gives people confidence that we are committed to our mission. We also hope to appeal to the same conscious-driven humans who care about the decisions companies make, like using fair trade ingredients and avoiding greenwashing. 

These public benefits have always been important to Spinster Sisters and will now have increased focus and attention with our new status as a public benefit corporation. This conversion will allow Spinster Sisters to continue to balance its for-profit strategies along with that enhanced focus on its benefit purpose for all stakeholders.

Our sustainability efforts only grow stronger

Spinster Sisters has been relentlessly determined to do better for people and the planet since the beginning. We lovingly craft all our products using only wind and solar energy at the Spinster Sisters Microsoapery. We use the finest clean ingredients and source fair trade wherever possible. We package our products in recycled or recyclable materials. We even offer product versions without any packaging, like naked Bar Soap. Business practices that combat climate change will continue to be a focus. We will also continue efforts to reduce plastic usage and consumption through our own choices about packaging and production, as a reduced environmental footprint is key to our sustainability mission. 

Join us on the "green brick road"

We love that our customers are already making great choices about their skincare and hope you share our environmental and social values. We want to do more to advocate and provide educational resources to help you along such a happy path. We don’t want this to be a one-sided conversation; your reviews, comments, and interactions on social are the butter to our bread! Stay tuned for more sustainability articles and informational nuggets shared to our feeds on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. We can't wait to hear your input!