Princess Polly has secured a B Corp Certification, welcoming the Australian online retailer to the global community of nearly 10,000 B Corps for “meeting high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency.
“In an industry facing complex social and environmental challenges, Princess Polly’s B Corp Certification signals a serious commitment to raising fashion industry standards and prioritizing outcomes for people and the planet, alongside profit,” said Angie Farrugia, acting CEO for B Lab Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand (AANZ). “After a two-year journey to this milestone, we commend Princess Polly’s determination and willingness to be held accountable to high standards, now and into the future.”
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The fast fashion destination from Down Under was founded in 2010 by Wez and Eirin Bryett to target Gen Z women aged between 16 and 25. Princess Polly expanded to the U.S. after joining the A.k.a. Brands platform in 2018, aiming to inspire its shoppers via a constant stream of inspirational content on social media. In less than two years, Princess Polly became an American success; at one point, it ranked as the fifth most popular online shopping site, Piper Sandler’s “Taking Stock with Teens” semi-annual survey found.
“This is an incredible accomplishment, and it marks a significant step in our ongoing journey to embed sustainability and purpose into every part of our business,” Bryett, said in a statement. “We’re proud of the progress we’ve made and remain committed to continuously improving and holding ourselves to high standards in everything we do.”
Princess Polly’s earned an overall B Impact score of 86.8—almost seven points above the qualifying baseline (80) and nearly 36 points above “ordinary business” assessment scores. That score breaks down across B Lab’s five evaluated arenas. Governance equated 14.3 points, workers at 20.9, community at 19.2, environment at 28.4 and customers at 3.8.
The Gold Coast-based retailer’s publicly available answers to B Lab’s Disclosure Questionnaire—used to identify potentially sensitive issues related to the company wholly independent of its B Lab Assessment score—covered the elephants in the room: Greenwashing.
The greenwashing issue was summarized as “some independent articles/blog posts challenging Princess Polly’s claims of sustainable fashion and categorizing the company as a fast-fashion company, focused on unlimited growth and low-quality production.”
The impact on stakeholders was defined as “misleading marketing claims” affecting consumers’ choices with “over-consumption and irresponsible apparel production” posing a “great risk of environmental degradation and human rights violations.”
Princess Polly’s implemented management practices? Semantics.
“The term’ fast fashion’ is often associated with micro-trends, rapid production, low-quality materials, cheap pricing and unethical manufacturing,” the questionnaire reads. “Princess Polly, however, identifies as a demand fashion brand rather than a fast-fashion brand.”
While the difference between “demand fashion” and “fast fashion” is vague, McKinsey’s January article on fast fashion described “ultrafast fashion” as retailers evolving the traditional business model with condensed solutions, like demand-driven trend modeling.
“By leveraging proprietary demand and trend forecasting tools, they can quickly bring trends to market without overproduction,” the questionnaire read. “Their just-in-time replenishment model ensures accessible pricing, as excess inventory costs are not factored into their pricing structure.”
While parent company A.k.a. Brands does utilize a data-driven “test and repeat” merchandising model—as to introduce new styles every week—the details or functionalities of Princess Polly’s proprietary demand and trend forecasting tools (and replenishment models) are not clear.
“Princess Polly has a comprehensive ethical sourcing program. All product factories undergo valid ethical manufacturing audits and are visited in person by the Princess Polly team at least every two years,” the disclosure report continued. “Their 5 A’s Ethical Sourcing Program won Best Ethical Sourcing Initiative at the 2023 National Online Retailers Association (NORA) Sustainability Awards, and, in 2024, the brand achieved the highest bracket in the Baptist World Aid’s Ethical Fashion Report.”
Social responsibility highlights, meanwhile, include 30 percent of all new arrivals are made from lower-impact materials. On average, Princess Polly releases up to 150 new items every single week, according to the Apple Store app description.
As of July 15, Princess Polly’s website defined 720 styles as new. Of those 720 styles, 42 were categorized as Lower Impact.
Princess Polly launched its Lower Impact material guide in 2022, with most items in the range created with a material composition of 80 percent lower-impact materials. All items in the range comprise at least 50 percent lower-impact materials. Those materials include organic fibers (like cotton, linen, hemp) and reclaimed materials (like recycled cotton, recycled polyester, recycled PU) as well as forest-friendly materials—like Lenzing’s Tencel, viscose and modal offerings as well as Birla Cellulose’s Livaeco.
Princess Polly’s Lower Impact ranges—Linen 365, Soft Fit Luxe and Dream Fleece, for example—were introduced in 2023 and designed as capsule staples, the company said.
On the modern slavery front, Princess Polly addressed its cotton sourcing practices within the Disclosure Questionnaire’s category of industries at risk for human rights violations. With 21 percent of all the company’s products made from cotton, Princess Polly said it “outsources 100 percent of production and has not achieved full supply chain traceability,” including material sourcing. For cotton-rich products manufactured in China, Princess Polly disclosed that the company has “started a transition to use only GOTS and GRS-certified cotton.”
In 2023, 21.9 percent of Princess Polly’s cotton was third-party certified.
