How Good Are Princess Polly Dresses? Are They Made Sustainably?

Princess Polly is an Australian e-commerce fashion retailer brand that goes back to 2010. As of now, Princess Polly dresses have become quite popular around the world. This brand normally makes clothes for Gen-Z audiences, especially younger women. 

So, they focus more on making trending, quality fashion. The brand claims to be among the ethical fashion brands with a strong focus on sustainability. In this blog, we take a deep dive to understand this brand and the clothes that it makes.

Founded as a small retail brand in Gold Coast, Australia, the brand has since come a long way. It is now a multinational fashion brand that is aiming to get more sustainable. Moreover, they are a data driven company with a strong focus on online shopping.

Just how good are their dresses, and how sustainably they are made? Let’s take a deeper look into their products, as well as their production process.

Princess Polly Dresses: Quality And Price Range

The brand has a huge collection of womens’ clothing. Among their most popular products are their dresses. Princess Polly makes a variety of dresses in different shapes and sizes. Let’s find more about their product quality and price ranges.

Product Quality

The general opinion about the quality of their dresses is that they can be inconsistent. Some customers have expressed satisfaction with their purchases, finding the dresses stylish and suitable for longer usage. However, others expressed disappointment with the fabric, stitching, and the overall durability of their clothes.

Sizing can also be inconsistent across different styles. Some items can be small or large. So, it’s better to carefully check size charts and read product-specific reviews for sizing guidance.

Princess Polly offers a wide range of trendy styles that appeal to current fashion. Their dresses are often praised for being fashionable and on-trend.

Princess Polly offers a vast selection of dresses for various occasions, from casual day dresses to party and formal wear.

They usually provide good customer service, and have a smooth returns policy.

Price Range

Their  prices can vary depending on the style, material, and any ongoing promotions or discounts.

• Mini dresses tend to range from around $50 to $70 USD.
• Midi Dresses are generally available between $60 to $85 USD.
• Maxi Dresses often fall in the higher end of the price range $70 to $115 USD.

While the prices are generally considered affordable for trendy pieces, some customers may expect better quality for the price point.

Is Princess Polly Fast or Slow Fashion?

Presently, they are more of a fast-fashion brand. Princess Polly often uses lower-cost materials like polyester, which are not long-lasting. The brand is also known for constantly releasing new, trendy styles, aligning with the faster pace of fast fashion.

The fact that the brand responds to quickly changing trends places them more in the fast fashion category. They also use changing social media trends for quick marketing.

As we said earlier, their quality can be inconsistent. This factor suggests the use of lower-cost materials.

Large production volume is an important indicator of fast fashion. So, despite the brand’s claim of “Demand Fashion,” the sheer number of styles offered point to a different picture.

They are quite an affordable brand that makes trendy clothing for short-term wear. Although not as cheap as brands like ‘Shein,’ their prices are more in line with fast fashion trends.

How Are Princess Polly Dresses Made?

Their design teams are mainly located in Australia and the US. Like other fast fashion brands, they consider current fashion trends, street style, and pop culture to create new dress designs.

The brand partners with suppliers from India, China, and Pakistan to get affordable materials like polyester, rayon, and blends to cut costs. However, They are increasing their use of “lower impact” materials like recycled polyester and organic cotton for production. 

This initiative is in line with their move towards sustainability. 

Princess Polly partners with a network of independent factories. The brand states that 100% of their Tier 1 factories undergo ethical manufacturing audits conducted by independent specialists like Elevate. These audits aim to make sure that the factories provide ideal working conditions, wages, and proper safety.

The rest of the production process includes cutting, sewing, finishings, and quality checks.

How Sustainable is Princess Polly?

They have taken some important steps towards ethical fashion. However, the brand is generally not considered a highly sustainable brand by independent organizations.

Positive Efforts towards sustainable fashion

They have a “Lower Impact” line, with a growing percentage of new arrivals made from materials like recycled polyester, organic cotton, and other certified sustainable fabrics. 

Most of their orders and garments are being shipped in 100% recycled content plastic packaging.

The brand has set near and long-term science-based emissions reduction targets with the SBTi. They are aiming for significant reductions in Scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions by 2030 and 2050.

100% of their Tier 1 and 2 factores are implementing plans to trace the environmental impact down to the bottom of their supply chain. Their factories are also undergoing ethical manufacturing audits by independent specialists.

They have installed solar panels at their Australian headquarters.

Areas of improvement

They need to change their fast fashion model. Their core business model relies on rapid trends and frequent new arrivals, which lead to overbuying. 

Apart from their resale platform, there’s no evidence of clothing recycling or repair programs.

They don’t have publicly available information indicating significant action to reduce hazardous chemicals from their production process.

They have no clear actions to protect biodiversity in their supply chain.

There is a significant lack of transparency in the lower parts of their supply chain.

Is Princess Polly an Ethical Fashion Brand?

The brand is taking some steps towards ethical sourcing by conducting audits, increasing transparency and committing to work towards living wages. However, they are still not currently considered a truly ethical fashion brand by independent organizations.

The lack of information about their ethical fashion practices do not work in their favour. Their core business model, vague information, and auditing concerns are critical areas of improvement. 

On a positive side, they are taking important steps towards becoming an ethical fashion brand in the distant future. 

Comparison with Other Ethical Fashion Brands

In comparison to other, more dedicated ethical fashion brands like Tentree, Kotn, Stella McCarney, or Kotn, this brand has quite a lot to do.

Ethical fashion often becomes more expensive, due to higher production costs associated with fair wages and sustainable materials. However, some brands like Quince and Yes Friends aim to provide more affordable ethical options. This is also an important area where the brand can get better.

Brands like Everlane and Kotn have more supply chain transparency than Princess Polly.

The brand can take inspiration from other ethical brands like People Tree and No Nasties. They showcase stories about their production process to make their customers aware of fair wages and working conditions.

Overall, the brand has a long way to go before joining the bigger sustainable fashion brands.

Conclusion

So, we found that Princess Polly is a fast fashion brand with its fair share of criticisms and appreciation. Their quality and price range have gained mixed reviews from customers. The brand’s overdependence on changing fashion trends to market their products, means that they are still, very much a fast fashion brand.

On a brighter side, this brand is taking some important steps towards sustainable fashion. They are slowly moving on to more environmentally friendly production processes. These include the use of sustainable materials, waste reduction systems, fair work auditing, increased transparency, and more.

However, the brand has still not been recognised by independent organizations as ‘highly sustainable’. There are a lot of areas for improvement in the future.

Overall. Princess Polly is not a bad option as a clothing retailer. If the brand takes the right measures, it can become a highly ethical fashion brand in the near future.