Joanna Dai: "I always believed in the power of brands to influence change"

It's no secret that fashion, as an industry, can be bad for the planet. According to the United Nations, fashion is the second most polluting of all industries, responsible for 8% of all carbon emissions and 20% of all global wastewater.

That's why, this B Corp month, we sat down with former B Corp brand founder Joanna Dai. While her clothing brand Dai sadly closed down last year, she's a wealth of knowledge when it comes to making positive impact, reinventing business as a force for good and in turn, building a better tomorrow.

The theme of this year's B Corp month is "This Way Forward" - a celebration of how the thousand certified brands across the globe continue to innovate and inspire other businesses to follow in their footsteps and adopt a genuinely sustainable practice.

On their website, executive director of B Lap Europe Juliette Caulkins shares: “During B Corp Month, we want to shine a spotlight on B Corp [brands] – innovative companies that are leading the way forward across the world, having a positive impact on people, communities, and the planet. It's becoming increasingly apparent, and we are hearing from our community, that consumers, investors, and workers no longer settle for business as usual. In our recent study surveying 11,000 respondents in Europe, a striking 90% agree that directors of companies should be accountable for their social and environmental performance, and 87% believe that it should be mandatory for businesses to consider the interest of all stakeholders, including people and the planet.” 

From its inception, Dai had a clear vision - to empower women without harming the planet in the process. Below, Dai shares her top tips for launching your own B Corp brand, sticking to your guns, and never giving up.

Joanna Dai: "I always believed in the power of brands to influence change"

Joanna first launched Dai in 2017 with one goal in mind: to create seriously comfortable workwear that empowered women while also doing good by both people and planet. "As women, we want to reach the top," Dai shares. "I imagined a world where clothes didn’t restrict us but empowered us - comfort is confidence."

Challenging the status quo and closely monitoring new and innovative materials, supply chain, and manufacturers who genuinely prioritised human welfare, they achieved an impressive B Corp score of 97.4 in 2020 (for reference, the pass point is 80 with most brands averaging around an 85). 

Sticking to their guns

But setting up the businesses and sticking to her guns when it came to their sustainable code of practice wasn't always easy. "I wanted to create something tangible that had a positive impact," she goes on. "I always believed in the power of brands to have a megaphone and platform to influence change. Once I entered the fashion industry in 2017 and realised what was under the hood, it was clear to me that there was so much to challenge and do better across every aspect of building Dai, from materials and supply chain to people."

So she got to work, enrolling at the London College of Fashion to learn design and patternmaking and working as an unpaid intern with Emilia Wickstead. "I gradually gained the knowledge and confidence," she reflects.

That said, one big uncertainty remained - whether the concept of performance and tailoring could co-exist in physical, fully-finished products that also didn't harm the planet. "After testing over 60 fabric swatches, we lucked out finding our signature performance 4-way stretch, machine washable, wrinkle resistant fabrics from Italy, which also happened to be one of the most pioneering mills on sustainability," she shares.

Certifying as a B Corp

Reading about the B Corp premise in 2017, Dai committed to becoming certified within two to three years - quite a journey in and of itself. So, what does she wish people knew about building a sustainable business and certifying as B Corp? "Now more so than ever, it's difficult for people to distinguish between a truly sustainable business and any other business trying to create a sustainable perception."

That's where B Corp comes in - designed to help you differentiate between the genuine and greenwashing with one handy logo. But it's not just a tick box, one-and-done type of thing - each business has to re-certify every three years, showing their continuing and dedicated commitment to being a force for good.

Wondering how they do this? Simply, B Corp offers every business a framework for change, guiding them on their journey and helping them start new chapters. Dai's advice for starting your own journey is simple - always be kind, be willing to prioritise people and planet over profit, and make sure to be open to receiving a lot of help, too. "I enrolled in yoga teacher training to improve my own practice and understanding of breathwork and meditation, went on retreats or immersed myself in nature, and ultimately had a therapist, cranial-osteopath and executive coach all regularly this year," she shares. "I also made sure to try and switch off at weekends."

Reaping the rewards

The journey for her, although bittersweet, has been life-changing and rewarding in more ways than she can mention. "I would love for all women to feel as empowered as I have felt building Dai," she reflects.

What would she change, if anything? "Hindsight is 20/20, and I think the combination of venture capital‘s fast-paced growth expectations coupled with the challenging market and our commitment to our values made it impossible to continue. We had such positive momentum over the years and gave it our best shot post-pandemic, but market factors were not in our control and our best just wasn’t enough. Perhaps having the willpower to acknowledge this earlier would have allowed us to pivot onto a slower path with patient capital towards profitability. Those are some big if’s and theoreticals."

To learn more about becoming a B Corp or improving the sustainability credentials of your business, head to the B Corp website.