‘Disappointing’: Outcry after fast-fashion brand Princess Polly earns B Corp certification

Princess Polly, a brand founded by Gold Coast by Gen Z, was recently selected as a B Corp certified company.

However, the news of the brand’s latest success is that many environmentalist and fashion experts are the heads of the certificate of the fast -fashion brand that “weakens the value and reliability of accreditation”.

Certified B Corp. The certification emphasizes that companies meet certain sustainability and ethical goals based on strict assessment criteria.

Princess Polly, known for its viral hyper fashion styles and social media infusion trends, including Tiktok, is women aged 18-26 years.

A fast -fashioned brand is defined as cheap clothes that are quickly produced in response to rapidly changing trends.

For a B Corp certificate, willing brands and companies should enter a solid veterinary round for passing, B must earn a minimum of 80 points for impact assessment, consist of 200 questions examining the impact of a company on the planet in five different categories, community, customers, governance and workers.

“The B Corp certificate is an appointment that a business meets the high standards given to factors and input materials, factors of an enterprise, the benefits of an enterprise, the benefits of employees and philanthropy efficiency of employees and input materials.

Princess Polly won 86.8 at its total impact score, only the certification of the threshold and the average work average exceeded 50.9.

However, RMIT Fashion and Textile School Senior Lecturer Harriette Richards claimed that Princess Polly’s B Corp certificate “disappointment” and “weakens the value and reliability of accreditation”.

Dr Richards said in a statement, “Princess Polly, claiming that they are sustainable, trying to position it as a marketing tool of ‘sustainability’ label, such as Shein, such as Shein,”.

“Although they can use more environmentally friendly materials than Ultra fast fashion colleagues, the truth is that business models based on excessive production and excessive consumption cannot be sustained.”

RMIT lecturer Jon Hewitt, Newswire, the fashion brand “trend -oriented, high -volume, low -cost” business model “encourages excessive consumption ve and the brand is“ naturally criticized ”.

“Princess Polly’s B Corp certificate sends the message that a fashion initiative should offer only some low -effective products to obtain certification instead of embracing a triple lower striped approach where a fashion initiative is equally prioritized in business models of people, planet and profit,” Dr Hewitt said.

“This shows that a brand can typically typically typically maintain sustainable and ethical applications in all fields of brands that place sustainable and ethical applications in all areas of their works, while the abdomen maximizing, high -volume, low -cost model.”

While Princess Polly won a score for the certificate, Dr. Hewitt argued that “minimal criteria received the same accreditation as those with much higher scores”.

“They are essentially treated with brands with limited or suspicious commitments to sustainable and ethical practices,” he said.

“A fast fashion brand like Princess Polly, when it receives the same certificate as more determined brands, weakens the value of its hard work and its loyalty to really sustainable and ethical practices.”

Dr Hewitt told Newswire that “Alarm raises the bells” certificate, and argued that it would only add confusion to consumers looking for more sustainable options.

“There is already a lot of confusion among consumers and making sustainable purchasing decisions is prevented by the presence of green washing in the sector,” he said.

“Third -party accreditation can help reduce confusion and even skepticism by providing a clear clear signal on reliability without the need for detailed explanations.

“If it is found that certificates such as B Corp have certified brands with suspicious sustainable applications, consumer confidence will ultimately weaken, which will lead to more confusion about how to shop for sustainable fashion.”

In April 2025, B lab presented a new set of standards for Dr. Hewitt’s certificate for the certificate that he hoped to make it difficult to get a certificate in the future ”.

“This may mean that Princess Polly has benefited by receiving a certificate before these changes are implemented and that they will not need to re -apply until 2028,” he said.

A Princess Polly spokesman speaking with Newswire said that the fashion brand is “proud” from the B Corp certificate and “B Corp Certificate is due to being part of a community recognizing and providing progresses and changing communities”.

“As a brand built for the next generation, we are proud to take brave steps to provide a significant change on a scale,” he told Newswire.

“Princess Polly was the second Australian fashion retailer with close and long -term carbon reduction targets approved by science -based targets initiative.”

Sözcü said that the brand has performed better than the industry average for its emissions and that it scored Class B by the Carbon Description Project in 2024.

The spokesman also argued that the brand’s clothes are not “cheap or not priced”.

“We have made significant progress to transform most of our secrets into lower environmental materials and we will continue to expand this number,” he said.

Princess Polly said that this year produces 37 percent of its products from “certified low -effective materials ve and the first 20 percent of the companies in the 2024 Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Guide.

“We make our initiatives open to the public, we are proud of our progress, and ESG (environment, social and governance) remains determined to constantly advance our efforts,” he said.

The EU LAB spokesman said that the Gold Coast brand has undergone a two -year process to measure itself according to these standards and has taken the necessary steps to improve and meet certification requirements ”.

“Some ways of the certification of Princess Polly, increasing the use of certified lower -effective materials, implementation of tight tests to provide durability, active reduction of carbon emissions along the supply chain, encouraging circularity and supporting the health of employees during parenting. He said.

“Princess Polly is expected to revive under new standards to protect its certificates, like all B Corps with re -certification dates in 2028.”