Oboz & West Paw on their B Corp Journey

In honor of B Corp Month, we met with Amy Beck of Oboz Footwear and Spencer Williams of West Paw to discuss B Corp Certification and what it means to both brands. Oboz- built on a commitment to the natural places we recreate- and West Paw- dog's best friend. As both brands continue to grow in responsibility to people and the planet, the support and collaboration with fellow B Corps becomes increasingly critical. This way forward, as a force for good is built to bring others along for the journey.

And without further ado:

Aside from being Bozeman-based brands and undeniable dog lovers, West Paw and Oboz are both part of a global community of benefit-minded businesses through the B Corp Certification. Can you tell us more about what led West Paw and Oboz to become a B Corp business? 

Spencer Williams:  West Paw's journey to B Corp started 12 years ago.

I was fortunate enough to meet one of the original B Corp members. They were a friend and later became a consultant to us on People and Culture. At one point, I was asked about the issues that West Paw cared most deeply about and was asked to dinner to learn more about B Corp. It was such an awesome experience and what I realized was that the whole concept of B Corp was about embracing who we already were. We started in 1996 using our businesses as a force for good. This was one of the best things for West Paw: joining a community after feeling a little unique to our industry and our home base: Montana. When we established B Corp, we recognized that we were part of a movement that mattered and held shared values. It helped us lean into who we were more holistically and confidently. 

And for Oboz?

Amy Beck: Oboz has always looked toward doing better and doing things uniquely. From the beginning, we planted a tree for every pair of shoes we sold. We offset our electricity. We always intentionally wanted to do more than sell shoes. The sensibilities were there, but the opportunity that KMD Brands — the global group of brands Oboz is a part of — has brought us, as a small brand in this space, helped catapult us forward to where we are today. 

Since the start, and still today, we are committed to the Bozeman community and protecting the wild places and outdoor spaces that we recreate in and build our product for. We are a small brand, but this commitment is so important to us - especially with the support of a KMD Brands to cheer us on.

West Paw is celebrating 10 years as a B Corp and Oboz is celebrating its first anniversary. Could you share a bit more on what becoming a B Corp entailed in 2013 and 2023? 

Spencer: For me, it’s the relationships.

We can have some impact as an individual business, but a tremendous impact as a whole group of businesses. When we started, it was hundreds of B Corp companies, now thousands. We’ve seen the benefits of those connections in conversations about culture, work practices, and just a general sharing of good ideas. The relationships inside and around our companies help us propel our businesses as an economic force and change maker.

Our recommendation for Oboz is based on our approach to recertification. I've looked at the certification as a way to improve our business. We use it as an opportunity to improve by involving a wide group of people throughout the organization. It's been helpful for them to understand why we're a B Corp and what this assessment helps us to achieve; namely, making a bigger impact.

Amy: Part of our story is how KMD brands; Rip Curl, Kathmandu, and Oboz got our B Corp Certification together. Kathmandu was already B Corp certified. As their recertification came up in 2023, they brought us along. It was intimidating and daunting, however, the journey to get there was an incredible learning experience. Every layer was deeper than the next. B Corp touches every aspect of the business, which makes it even more fulfilling and allows us to do good with our business. The journey was intense, but now it's embedded in our overall culture.

My biggest takeaway is that B Corp has to be part of how you run your business. It has to be an added filter in decision-making. I'm looking forward to bringing more people from our team into the B Corp process so they can better understand its importance. This approach would allow for us to do a lot of soul-searching around what is right for our business, what's right for our community, and what's right for us moving forward. 

This month is B Corp month and in March Oboz is celebrating the theme, “this way forward”. What does this look like for West Paw?

Spencer: For me, this way forward means coming back to the relationship part of the conversation. We're casting a vision that's a couple of years out. The strategies around recycling and regenerative agriculture are two of our biggest focus areas right now. Join the Loop recycling program started 20 years ago, where we take back well loved dog toys and recycle them into new toys. The month after we started our injection molded dog toy line, we were able to claim it was 100% recyclable. So, we started recycling toys that we got back from customers at that moment.

As Join the Loop has grown and scaled we've recycled over 140,000 pounds of material. Now, in May we’ll be leveraging a large retailer's reverse logistics to help us recycle not just our toys, but other dog toys. We don't have all the answers to these challenging complex problems, but that's our job in business to find solutions.

Then the second thing we've been working on for over six years now is to build a supply chain of animal proteins from Montana. There's a lot of organ meat that goes to waste in the slaughterhouses in Montana. Those are good proteins and we have got to find a way to get more money back to the producers. The result is regenerative dog treats.

B Corp is a community of 8,000 global brands. Bozeman alone, is home to several B Corp-certified businesses across industries. How can these businesses come together to support each other’s work in progress?

Additionally, what are ways that businesses and brands can get involved?

Spencer: Before starting, any brand or business owner should ask themselves if their company is prepared to make a genuine impact. If a brand is doing it simply for recruitment or marketing or a badge, they are not going to help the movement the way we need them to.

Amy: Learning more and talking with other B Corps both in and out of our industry. What are the opportunities? How can your team best prepare to take this step? The mindset is long-term. How the business adopts the certification into everyday business functions while continuing to produce a meaningful impact are considerations before taking first steps. But, so worth it!

After one year of B Corp for Oboz and almost 11 years for West Paw, both brands have used this community and certification process to define and reach their goals. Recognizing the certification as not only a set of boxes to check, but values to instill in each brand, cross-departmentally. All 8,000 global brands with B Corp Certification are helping to create meaningful change. From this, comes innovation, ideas, and important standards for environmental and social impact.