Frankie4 is marking a new milestone in its business.
The Australian women’s footwear label has achieved B Corporation certification, which measures a company’s environmental and social impact.
According to Frankie4 chief executive officer Hilary McMillan, the certification reflects the hard work and dedication across the company. “The process involves an intensive assessment of a company’s impact on workers, customers, community, and the environment,” McMillan said. “Improving the well-being of women worldwide is the heart of our mission, and we want to do so as responsibly as we can.”
The company said it achieved an initial score of 85.7 across five impact areas. This is well above the average score for businesses that have attempted to certify of 50.9, the shoe company said. The brand is only the fifth footwear company founded in Australia and New Zealand to join the B Corp community.
Since its inception in 2010 by podiatrist Caroline McCulloch, the footwear brand has been developed and tested in-house by an all-female design team. Born from frustration over the lack of supportive footwear for women experiencing pain and discomfort, every pair of Frankie4 shoes features podiatrist-designed footbed technology.
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This certification comes as the company launched key U.S. wholesale partnerships with Nordstrom and J.Jill last year. The brand also operates nine stores in Australia and a flagship store in Seattle and can be found at hundreds of doors globally.
By gaining a B Corporation certification, Frankie4 joins a group of over 9,000 like-minded companies across 102 countries and 162 industries. Other footwear companies to have received the certification in recent years includes Manitobah in 2023, Birdies in 2022 and Aera in 2021.
Earlier this year, shoe care brand Jason Markk earned its B Corp certification.
