FASHION & ACCESSORIES
CULT MIA
Cult Mia is constantly scouting the globe, to bring you curated edits of the pieces that no one else has. Unlike other platforms overwhelmed with copycat collections, they're on a mission to bring you conversation-starting, standout pieces that you’ve never seen before (they even have a 40% exclusivity count). Because you’re not ordinary, so why should your wardrobe be? Their mission is to bring you values-driven fashion that never compromises on style. So, when it comes to the designers they work with, they are selective – to say the least. Every brand that qualifies for the cult has been vetted for excellence in operations, quality, design and values. They are here to remove the guesswork when it comes to product discovery online and through their selection and curation processes, you can be assured that every piece you fall in love with also meets the highest standards of quality, ethics and style.
SUSTAINABILITY PURPOSE
Cult Mia's mission is to give access to limited edition, unique, global fashion, safe in the knowledge that all products and brands align with the values you care about. Their approach to sustainability is tied to their curation: they carefully handpick their assortment in two steps. First, they evaluate operational excellence and find the perfect product for their community in terms of price, quality, and exclusivity. Second and most important in their vetting process is understanding the principles that underpin their brands. From the outset, a sustainable and conscious outlook has been a core selection criteria for Cult Mia. They curate and only support the brands that align with their four key values: environmental sustainability, social consciousness, minority empowerment, and the protection of local craft/heritage.
Established
2019
Headquarters
London, UK
First Certified
2022
Employees
12
Categories
Women's Fashion
Website
Distribution
Worldwide
SUSTAINABILITY REPORT CARD
Click below to see the detailed breakdown of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance. Cult Mia has been comprehensively assessed and scored against all key areas of sustainability, including impact on climate, nature and water, treatment of workers and communities as well as how ethically the business is run. Performance is assessed against international agreements, global frameworks, standards and legislation.
REAL CHANGE IN ACTION
CULT CAUSES
The Cult Causes initiative gives customers the ability to shop products and brands based on the cause they want to support.
● Cult Eco: Supporting brands that are reducing their carbon footprint and that are committed to make sustainable practices the new normal.
● Cult Conscious: Caring about and looking after the people behind the pieces. Sarah's Bag, a social Lebanese enterprise is the perfect example; they employ over 100 female ex-prisoners to carefully hand-bead statement bags. The Cult Conscious segment also includes brands that give back to communities and donate to causes.
● Cult Local: Honouring local craftsmen and celebrating the rich heritage that inspires our partner collections. Each piece tells a story and takes you on a cultural journey.
● Cult Power: Supporting minority-owned businesses, from female to LGBT to Black-owned. Cult Mia is the platform for growth for minority-led fashion labels.
SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION
Cult Mia is committed to slow and demand-led fashion. They encourage small batch production with their retail brands and currently 35% of Cult Mia’s retail products are made-to-order, minimising waste by working only with demand-led inventories.
Cult Mia have launched their own Made-to-Measure initiative, a new way of shopping that enables customers to submit their measurements and receive bespoke tailor-made pieces. This offering builds on Cult Mia's sustainability mission, with a demand-led inventory model that eliminates dead stock, reduces waste and has maintained returns at a low of 7.5% over the 2 years since launch. The Made-to-Measure initiative also fosters Cult Mia’s inclusive culture, enabling people of all shapes and sizes to shop their favourite sustainable brands.
PACKAGING EFFICIENCY
Each Cult Mia item is packed in packaging based on size, limiting wasted packaging material and ensuring each item takes less space, allowing for more efficient logistics performance. Cult Mia packaging is made of recycled and organic materials that are entirely plastic free. All packaging is 100% recyclable and in some cases encourages repeated consumer use.
SUPPLY CHAIN & PARTNERSHIPS
As a sustainability led platform, Cult Mia not only seeks to define and develop their own path towards sustainability but also strives to work hand-in-hand and encourage their suppliers to follow suit. Cult Mia has developed a sourcing strategy, audit and incentive system to identify and reward sustainability practices.
Their sustainable sourcing strategy has helped Cult Mia to guide and keep their independent and artisanal designers accountable during their partnership. As part of this strategy, the online retailer has implemented a supplier classification method, where potential partner brands are assessed across four categories including environmental sustainability, animal welfare, ethical production and the supply chain. Awarding this classification allows Cult Mia to direct their resources to those brands that need more support in their sustainability journeys. The brand’s ultimate objective is not only to showcase their brands’ products, but also to help their partner brands grow sustainably.
The Cult Causes initiative gives customers the ability to shop products and brands based on the cause they want to support.
● Cult Eco: Supporting brands that are reducing their carbon footprint and that are committed to make sustainable practices the new normal.
● Cult Conscious: Caring about and looking after the people behind the pieces. Sarah's Bag, a social Lebanese enterprise is the perfect example; they employ over 100 female ex-prisoners to carefully hand-bead statement bags. The Cult Conscious segment also includes brands that give back to communities and donate to causes.
● Cult Local: Honouring local craftsmen and celebrating the rich heritage that inspires our partner collections. Each piece tells a story and takes you on a cultural journey.
● Cult Power: Supporting minority-owned businesses, from female to LGBT to Black-owned. Cult Mia is the platform for growth for minority-led fashion labels.
Cult Mia is committed to slow and demand-led fashion. They encourage small batch production with their retail brands and currently 35% of Cult Mia’s retail products are made-to-order, minimising waste by working only with demand-led inventories.
Cult Mia have launched their own Made-to-Measure initiative, a new way of shopping that enables customers to submit their measurements and receive bespoke tailor-made pieces. This offering builds on Cult Mia's sustainability mission, with a demand-led inventory model that eliminates dead stock, reduces waste and has maintained returns at a low of 7.5% over the 2 years since launch. The Made-to-Measure initiative also fosters Cult Mia’s inclusive culture, enabling people of all shapes and sizes to shop their favourite sustainable brands.
Each Cult Mia item is packed in packaging based on size, limiting wasted packaging material and ensuring each item takes less space, allowing for more efficient logistics performance. Cult Mia packaging is made of recycled and organic materials that are entirely plastic free. All packaging is 100% recyclable and in some cases encourages repeated consumer use.
As a sustainability led platform, Cult Mia not only seeks to define and develop their own path towards sustainability but also strives to work hand-in-hand and encourage their suppliers to follow suit. Cult Mia has developed a sourcing strategy, audit and incentive system to identify and reward sustainability practices.
Their sustainable sourcing strategy has helped Cult Mia to guide and keep their independent and artisanal designers accountable during their partnership. As part of this strategy, the online retailer has implemented a supplier classification method, where potential partner brands are assessed across four categories including environmental sustainability, animal welfare, ethical production and the supply chain. Awarding this classification allows Cult Mia to direct their resources to those brands that need more support in their sustainability journeys. The brand’s ultimate objective is not only to showcase their brands’ products, but also to help their partner brands grow sustainably.
Standards & Accreditations
To provide evidence of sustainability performance across luxury companies' full value chain, 180+ memberships, accreditations and specialist certifications are taken into account during assessment
FAIRTRADE GOLD
FSC Certified
Global Animal Partnership
Fair Trade
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
ISO 14001 Environmental Management
Leather Working Group
Woolmark Certification
Global Recycled Standard (GRS)
Better Cotton Initiative
Oeko-Tex
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Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)
Fair Wear Foundation
PEFC Certified
ISO 9001 Quality Management
JOURNEY SO FAR
06/2022
CERTIFICATION
06/2022
FINAL SUBMISSION
05/2022
RISK MAPPING
05/2022
BASELINE SUBMISSION
01/2022
BEGAN ASSESSMENT
A WORD FROM THE FOUNDER
I previously worked for the United Nations' Women and Trade team, focusing on supporting and scaling female-owned micro-enterprises in the least-developed economies. While vetting the unique products that our independent fashion designers offer, we noticed that often incumbent luxury brands either purchase or replicate these original designs. The opportunity to lift up independent fashion designers was glaringly obvious to me. I’m excited to build on this mission and provide the platform to shop independent brands locally, directly, and online with ease.”
NINA BRIANCE
FOUNDER & CEO
WHY POSITIVE LUXURY
As sustainability becomes increasingly important to us and our community, we focused on bringing our mission and values-driven approach to the forefront of our business model. Last November, we launched Cult Causes, giving customers the ability to shop products and brands based on the cause they want to support. As a growing business, we are still working on defining what sustainability in fashion means to Cult Mia and have turned to Positive Luxury to guide us through the process. From what we have seen, the change needs to come both from brands and customers: Cult Mia sits between the two, facilitating the connection as a platform. We know that platforms need to do their part. This is why we are undergoing certification with Positive Luxury during the early days of our business journey. We’re looking forward to setting the right frameworks, from the start for our platform, and every brand that join the platform.