Branded clothing and merchandise manufacturer Wild Thang cements its reputation as one of the most environmentally-focused firms in Liverpool city region after securing the coveted B Corp status. Tony McDonough reports

For the past few years Bootle manufacturer Wild Thang has been building a formidable reputation as an environmentally-focused firm and now it has reached a major milestone.

After a long and challenging process the branded clothing and merchandise specialist has secured Certified B Corporation status. This makes it part of a global community of businesses that meet high standards of social and environmental impact.

B Corp Certification is a “rigorous and comprehensive” process that evaluates a company’s impact on its workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment.  The company described the achievement as one of the biggest milestones in its near 30-year history.

Wild Thang, which produces branded materials to multiple blue-chip clients including McDonald’s, Paddy Power and retail giant B&M, has invested well in excess of £2m into the business in the past four years and pushed headcount above 50.

Back in 1996 Andrew Dwerryhouse secured a £1,500 loan from the Prince’s Trust to launch a fledgling branded clothing business with school friend Mark Zajac. They set up shop in a room in Andrew’s father’s engineering business.

Today Wild Thang operates from a purpose-built headquarters close to the Port of Liverpool and since the pandemic has invested both in its home location and expanded overseas to open bases in the Republic of Ireland and New Jersey in the US.

But it is its commitment to decarbonisation and net zero where the company has really gone the extra mile. In spring 2023 Wild Thang launched its sustainability pledge.

In October of the same year it installed 290 solar panels on the roof of its headquarters. They are already providing around 80% of its energy needs. In May 2024 it submitted its application to become a B Corp certified company.

This week the Wild Thang team came together to celebrate this latest milestone. Andrew Dwerryhouse said: “It was genuinely wonderful to finally celebrate becoming B Corp certified with our amazing team, partners and clients.

“It has been one of the most challenging and fulfilling journeys we have ever been on as a company, so it now officially becomes one of the biggest milestone moments in our near 30-year history.

“We decided to become B Corp because it was the right thing to do, it aligned perfectly with our own values and ethics. B Corp certification also happens to be the highest and hardest certification to achieve available in the UK and possibly globally.

“Every member of the Wild Thang family has been part of helping make this special moment happen, but especially the other directors, senior team and our ESG manager Carrie Dwerryhouse, who has been the driving force to get officially certified.”

Back in early 2023 Wild Thang publicly launched Wild Thang’s eight-point Long-Term Sustainability Pledge at the Good Small Business Awards, with pledge eight sharing its intent to become B Corp Certified.

A principle further reflected in its pledge was to plant trees and invest in carbon avoidance schemes for every order received and on behalf of its team.

Since February 2023 it has planted almost 65,000 trees and supported 18 verified carbon avoidance projects, preventing the emission of more than 4,500 tCO2e. It’s the equivalent of 3,413 long-haul flights, 13,332 m2 of sea ice saved and more than 11m miles driven.

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Carrie Dwerryhouse added: “It’s been nearly two years since we announced our intention to become B Corp and 360 days refining our application to gain certification, so I was more relieved than anything that we have finally got certified.

“As a world-class team and industry leaders, we think it’s all about trust and every company should be asking the ‘why?’ question and only aligning with suppliers they genuinely trust who have shared values and ethics.

“We know that there is still much to be done in the future, but it’s progress not perfection with a continuous improvement mindset, we are incredibly proud to be part of the amazing B Corp community.”