Ciele Athletics Announces B Corp Certification

December 20, 2022

Canadian running brand earns socially responsible business recognition

MONTREAL (Dec. 20, 2022) /OUTDOOR SPORTSWIRE/ – Ciele Athletics, the high-end performance running brand from Montreal, Quebec, is proud to officially announce its Benefit Corporation (B Corp) certification, a label awarded exclusively to companies that voluntarily meet the highest standards for social and environmental performance. Since embarking on its application journey years ago, Ciele Athletics has finally achieved esteemed B Corp status and joins more than 6,000 Certified B Corporations spanning more than 80 countries and 150 industries in a global effort to build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.

“Jeremy Bresnen and I set the core values of the company and brand at its inception, and a few years after launching we saw how well they lined up with the standards that B Corp evaluates. We are honored to finally join the network of Certified B Corp organizations. It’s truly fulfilling for us,” says Mike Giles, co-founder and vice president at Ciele Athletics. “It’s been a long journey to get here, but we understand that we still have a long way to go. We want to do everything we can to continue our sustainability and social impact, and B Corp recognition is another way to validate our efforts and the decisions we continue to make.”

The B Corp certification was the clear next step and is a formal acknowledgement of the culmination of Ciele Athletics’ notable efforts since the brand’s inception in 2014. Some of those commitments include:

• Integrating environmentally certified products and packaging: FSC-certified boxes, REPREVE®, Fair Trade and Global Recycled Standard (GRS)
• Using REPREVE recycled performance yarn made from plastic bottles in nearly 100% of its headwear collections, from caps to buckets hats
• Producing headwear collections and the NSB (Not So Basic) Collection (T-shirts and tank tops) with a majority of GRS-certified recycled yarns (recycled polyester, recycled nylon, recycled cotton)
• Reducing the amount of plastics used year after year, moving toward a fully recycled lineup
• Working with certified factories for their good craftsmanship and because they ensure good working conditions
• Modifying the supplier screening questionnaire to gather more data about factory certifications, social and environmental impact, and ownership structure
• Focusing on employee well-being and satisfaction, with increased benefits such as lunch runs, yoga Wednesdays, allowance for movement (physical and mental monthly allocation) and volunteer days available to all employees. All employees are paid a living wage at minimum.
• Ensuring that decision making considers outcomes on all workers, customers, the environment and the community, pushing the boundaries beyond financial motivations

“We want to continue to take the necessary steps to lower our footprint using sustainable and recyclable materials. After transitioning from virgin yarns to recycled in the bulk of our product lineup, the next push the design and production team will focus on will be the drive toward technical natural fibers and fabric mixes and the reduction, if not elimination, of plastic in our products and packaging,” says Jeremy Bresnen, co-founder and president.

The B Corp journey prompted Ciele Athletics to measure and track its impact in all areas of the certification’s focus: governance, workers, community, environment and customers. It helped the brand structure its impact management and target where it would like to do better. Moving forward, Ciele Athletics is committed to measuring more of its impact, such as GHG emissions, and to connecting with other B Corps to share experiences and solutions for creating better outcomes for the planet and its people.

Unique in its ability to measure a company’s entire social and environmental impact, B Lab, the nonprofit behind B Corporations, meticulously examines the impact of corporate operations and business models on workers, customers, communities and environment. Certified B Corporations are leaders in the global movement for an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy.

To learn more about Ciele Athletics, visit cieleathletics.com. You also can connect with Ciele Athletics on Facebook and Instagram.

ABOUT CIELE ATHLETICS

Founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 2014 by Jeremy Bresnen and Mike Giles, Ciele Athletics offers high-performance, durable and lightweight headwear and apparel collections built for performance and protection, designed for runners and adventurers of all kinds. Its apparel and iconic line of caps are sold in over 30 countries, including more than 600 boutiques in North America and 300 international locations.

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