It’s Official! We’re a B Corp

Since day one, Thrive Market has been on a mission to be the world’s most sustainable and accessible grocery store. We’re proud to announce that we’ve reached a significant milestone on that journey by becoming a Certified B Corporation, making us the largest grocer to earn this coveted qualification.

“We’re incredibly proud of the recognition,” says Nick Green, Thrive Market CEO and Co-Founder. “And even more so, we’re excited to be joining B Corp’s community of conscious companies.” Read on for more about our path to certification and what being a B Corporation means in practice.

What is a B Corp?

Business as a force for good—that’s the ethos behind B Corp certification. Brands with a B Corp certification have a shared belief that the world’s challenges cannot and shouldn’t be solved by nonprofit organizations or governments alone. In order to receive Certified B Corporation status, a brand becomes legally required to consider the impact of its decisions on workers, communities, customers, suppliers, and the environment [1].

What’s Behind Thrive Market’s B Corp Status?

In pursuit of B Corp certification, all of our practices—from the farms we partner with to create products to our wind-powered fulfillment centers to the way we hire and manage employees—were considered.

Products:
“Our impact starts with the products we choose to carry,” says Thrive Market Chief Merchandising Officer Jeremiah McElwee. “That means saying ‘yes’ to supporting brands and suppliers that align with our vision of a healthier planet, and often saying ‘no’ to brands that other retailers carry.” This vision notably doesn’t include the use of GMOs; in fact, Thrive Market is the country’s largest GMO-free retailer (based on number of products) [2]. While taking a strong stance against GMOs may have helped us earn our B Corp status, our reasons for doing so are about the big picture: because we believe GMOs are bad for the soil, the water supply, and your health.

Our vision for the future of food is sustainable, ethical—and within reach for all. Beyond banning GMOs across the board, we invest in innovations like Biodynamic® and regenerative agriculture with many items in our Thrive Market line of high-quality, affordable food and household essentials, which adhere to the most rigorous sourcing standards.

• Regenerative agriculture goes beyond organic standards, replenishing top soil so it can sequester more CO2 than is currently emitted globally—so, not just slowing climate change, but actually helping reverse it [3]. Learn more about our regenerative products and practices here.
• Biodynamic® plants are grown in “living” soil through composting, integrating animals, cover cropping, and crop rotation. (Want to taste the difference? Try our Biodynamic® pastas.)
• Fair-trade practices allow us to have a greater impact on communities. These policies go beyond paying a fair and equitable price for goods and labor by upholding higher standards throughout the industry, from income stability to community support to environmental stewardship [4]. Head here to learn more.

Planet:
“We’re committed to operating our business in ways that both serve our members and respect our planet,” says Brian King, Thrive Market Director of Transportation & Logistics. “Each year, we find new ways to improve our carbon impact, reduce packaging waste, and incorporate renewable energy sources.” Our carbon offset practices have been in place since our founding—you can learn more about these specific programs here.

And those packaging materials? 100% recyclable and reusable. More on that here.

Purpose:
“Thrive Market isn’t just a company with a mission; we’re a company on a mission,” says Thrive Market Mission Manager Kristin DeSimone. At our core, we believe that healthy living should be a priority, not a privilege. Thrive Gives is that mission in practice. Through our one-for-one membership matching program, every paid Thrive Market membership provides a free one for a low-income family, student, teacher, veteran, or first responder. Additionally, we’ve donated nearly 1 million memberships and $3.8 million in cash and healthy groceries to fund food access and environmental sustainability causes since 2015.

“By bringing together our passionate member community and employees to actively help move our mission forward,” DeSimone adds, “we’ll ensure that we not only maintain, but strengthen that commitment into the future.”

People:
We aspire to create a culture that helps our employees feel valued and understand the impact they have on the lives of our members, as well as on our mission. Every six months, we select a small group of employees from across the company to join the Mission Task Force, where they’re empowered to spend 10% of their weekly time on impact-related work. Beyond the Mission Task Force, every employee can spend up to 10 hours per year of paid time volunteering for company-sponsored activities.