Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/709470
K abira Stokes used to work for the City of Los Angeles. She regularly spent time in one of L.A.'s poorer council districts, and oen saw people returning to the com- munity from prison. When they couldn't find work, they got into trouble. Stokes has a Masters degree in public policy and wanted to find a way to help previously incarcerated Angelenos get their lives back on track. "I think it's our job to forgive them, and see if there are opportunities we can present them to work and be part of our society again," she says. Stokes saw former prisoners complete transitional job programs, and then continue to strug- gle to find work. Aer meeting an e-waste recycler in Indiana who hired people who had been through the prison system, Stokes asked herself if something similar could work in Los Angeles. In 2011 she founded Isidore Electronics Recycling to offer electronics re- cycling to Los Angeles residents, businesses and organizations, while also providing employment to peo- ple who have success- fully exited the cor- rectional system. When Stokes heard about B Corps, she thought, "at's what we are." As she went through B Lab's application process, Stokes was inspired. "For a lot of the stuff, we were like, 'We do that,' but for other things, we realized, 'Oh, we could also do that!' ey get down to the smallest detail like, 'Are you buying recycled toilet paper?' It was a great process that got us thinking about how we could be even better." A few years ago, Heather Hasson saw a friend who worked as a nurse practitioner wearing a saggy set of scrubs. She figured there had to be more stylish medi- cal apparel out there, but when she couldn't find anything she liked, she took her friend's scrubs to a tailor so they'd at least fit better. Her friend's hospital coworkers saw the redesigned scrubs and started calling Hasson so she could "fix" their scrubs, too. at inspired Hasson to team up with another friend, Trina Spear, and create FIGS, a company that makes bet- ter-fitting scrubs with better fabric. Spear says, "We start- ed thinking, what are the ways we can build a business that is accountable to the medical community, the citizens of the world and our employees, as well as our sharehold- ers and investors?" Heather had spent time in Africa and was familiar with the lack of basic medical supplies there. "ere are doctors and nurses around the world who are operating in dirty jeans and a T-shirt, and they don't even have scrubs," says Spear. ey decided that for every set of scrubs sold, FIGS would give a set to a healthcare provider in need. FIGS was certified as a B Corp in 2013. Spear says, "ere's this concept of, 'I'll make it big and then I'll give back,' and that's just not how we think." From the beginning, FIGS' mis- sion has been to help medical professionals perform in their jobs and make their lives easier. "Being a one-for-one is really cool, because as you grow as a company, you're able to make a larger and larger impact." ISIDORE ELECTRONICS RECYCLING KABIRA STOKES, FOUNDER & CEO FIGS TRINA SPEAR & HEATHER HASSON, COFOUNDERS Owner Kabira Stokes Data Security and Recycling august/september 2016 27