Farm Rio is a now a certifiedB Corpafter its owner Grupo Soma earned a qualifying score from the B Lab nonprofit working to make business a “force for good.”
With a score of 85.1 points out of 200 on the B Impact Assessment, Grupo Soma cleared the 80-point qualification threshold to become Brazil’s 10th fashion B Corp.
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“The Impact B assessment was the major diagnosis that guided our institutional and brand sustainability agenda, supported together with our Materiality Matrix,ESG strategiesand goals,” said Taciana Abreu, head of sustainability at Rio de Janeiro-based Grupo Soma, which also owns Animale, Fabula, A.Brand, Foxton, Cris Barros and Off Premium. “The immersion in the process made us more mature and helped to create a transversal culture in the company, which today thinks about everything it does through the lenses of positive social, environmental and economic impact.”
The certification validates the “sustainable initiatives” Farm Rio has pursued since the brand known for vibrant colors and bold prints put down roots in the U.S. market four years ago, according to Abreu. “Per Farm Rio’s founding mission to care for the world we live in, the brand has pioneered new benchmarks of environmental responsibility in fashion and textile since its launch,” she said.
Farm Rio’sB Corpjourney has been many years in the making.
After theLevi’s collaboratortook its firstBusiness Impact Assessment in 2016, it realized it needed to go bigger on its impact projects. Farm Rio completed the assessment for the second time four years later and developed an improvement plan to achieve said bigger impact. The brand applied for B Corp certification in 2022 and conducted its third assessment based on 2021 data. This year, Farm Rio underwent a certification process and completed the fourth assessment.
“The brand has launched an intensive global program, reimagining its business model around the social and environmental fundamentals such as performance, accountability and transparency,” Abreu said. “The brand continues to work hard to develop strategies, implement initiatives, and make concrete changes in its everyday activities through its people, circularity, nature and culture pillars, as well as continuing to focus on every aspect that leads to being a better company for the team, the society and the environment.”
ESG initiatives began in 2017 when Farm Rio embarked on a long-lasting partnership with the Yawanawá Indigenous people supporting their heritage, work and community. These endangered people were “nearly wiped out after a century of enslavement by the rubber barons and abuse at the hands of Christian missionaries,” according to the Wild Foundation. Farm Rio said it supports the tribe, whose name translates to “the people of the wild boar,” through the structuring of the handicraft chain, reforestation projects, digital inclusion and cultural festivals.
In 2020, the company planted the first seed of its partnership withOne Tree Planted, where every purchase—online, in-store and through authorized retailers—results in Farm Rio donating one tree to the nonprofit through its “1,000 trees a day, every day” reforestation project. The partnership has resulted in more than one million trees planted in all six Brazilian biomes—the Amazon, Caatinga,Cerrado, Atlantic Forest,Pampasand Pantanal, each defined by its unique ecological community.
Farm Rio secured second place in theSDGStrategy Award by the SDG Strategy Network in 2022 for the project. The award “recognizes and awards entrants for promoting the United Nations’ sustainability development goals,” according to the U.N. This year, the awards received more than 5,000 applicants and nominations from 150-plus countries.
Transparency tools help Farm Rio monitor every step of the production chain. The brand has certified laboratories test products to ensure that it’s following internationally recognized standards on chemical compliance to “improve the protection of human health and the environment from the risks” associated with their use, Abreu said.
“It is important to say that in Brazil, Farm Rio’s suppliers also undergo audits to ensure good work, social and environmental practices,” Abreu continued. “In 2022, more than 9,000 audits were conducted in the Brazilian supply chain. These audits aim to mitigate potential risks related to human rights violations, infringements on fair labor conditions and non-compliance with legal and contractual requirements.”
It’s also a member ofSedexand its Tier 1 direct suppliers are audited by a third-party certifier company following the Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA) standards. The SMETA 4 Pillar Audit covers labor standards, health and safety, environmental assessment and business ethics.
“Farm Rio is participating in the Open Supply Hub—OS Hub—to make public the list of Tier 1 apparel and shoe direct suppliers within our supply chain, audited by a third-party certifier company following theSMETAstandards,” Abreu said, referring to the organization that helps companies use data to improve human rights and environmental conditions related to their factories and facilities. “Data transparency holds companies accountable for the working conditions and reduced environmental impact production in partner factories, leading to more sustainable and equitable outcomes in the retail sector.”
Abreu said the company is determined to keep its B Corp status. If Grupo Soma or one of its brands somehow fails to comply with the terms of its certification, the Standards Advisory Council (SAC) and the Brazilian integrity committee will “investigate potential misconduct,” she said.
“If confirmed, B Corporation Certification may be suspended until the company reinstates the good practices that initially led to its certification,” Abreu added.
Grupo Soma reported an “all-time high” quarterly gross revenue in the 2023 second quarter of just more than $307 million, up 9.3 percent year over year. Farm Rio generated about $37 million in gross revenue, a 20.1 percent increase over 2022. The company ended the quarter with 5.5 million active customers, more than 14,000 wholesalers and 1,067 stores, including 359 owned and 708 franchises.
Additional reporting by Jessica Binns.
