Scroll through Instagram and you will find countless sponsored advertisements and influencer posts promoting new and flashy sustainable and environmentally friendly products. You may even see your favorite celebrity drinking from a reusable straw in their Instagram story, but this hot new trend is still at odds with the overwhelming excess culture that dominates Instagram.
In our influence and culture saturated by social media, PR giveaways offer brands the opportunity to attract widespread attention – and it certainly works: the Adidas x Ivy Park collection is currently out of stock. Among those omnipresent orange boxes and the countless gossip articles that speculated that the gift would mark the end of a legendary feud between Kim Kardashian West and Beyoncé, the clothing line skyrocketed to commercial success almost immediately.
But does Kardashian West need free clothes? Scroll through her Instagram feed and you will no longer find a repeated dress. Between his clothing line, his family’s clothing lines, the free clothes he receives like the Adidas x Ivy Park collection and the clothes he buys, he could very well be able to dress in oblivion without ever repeating a single item .
So I ask: why does Kim Kardashian West need free clothes?
Not her. Period, period and stop, finish the story here.
Let’s forget Kardashian West for a moment and consider the average American. A 2018 survey conducted by the moving and moving company Movinga found that 82% of the clothes Americans buy remain unworn. In addition, every American throws away 70 pounds of clothes and other fabrics on average every year.
We now consider that Kardashian West’s net worth of $ 370 million is 5,375 times larger than the average American whose net worth of $ 68,828. Based on this basic math, it can be assumed that Kardashian West has a much larger wardrobe than the average American and, consequently, a specific carbon footprint for the much larger fabric.
The biggest villains of climate change, the 100 companies responsible for over 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions since 1988, the individual carbon footprint of the dwarf Kardashian West, but its impact is far greater than the sum of its individual habits .
The conspicuous consumption and consumer trends that Kardashian West demonstrates do not stop with her. Fans feel compelled to replicate these habits in their lifestyle, often turning to highly unethical and environmentally toxic fast fashion companies such as Forever 21 or H&M to obtain the same critical mass of wardrobe that Kardashian West demonstrates with such ease.
This irreverent attitude is prevalent in the lifestyles of celebrities broadcast on their social media. Analyze the Instagram story of Kardashian West or an episode of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” and you will find her and her sisters drinking from disposable plastic water bottles. Reusable water bottles are probably the most ubiquitous aspect of the thriving eco-conscious culture of the United States, yet plastic water bottles still mess up on social media from celebrities like the Kardashians.
There is a real irony of convenience here because unlike the Kardashians, who could literally shape their reusable bottles made of diamonds, the average consumer cannot afford environmentally friendly reusable products. A roll of Glad plastic wrap costs $ 2.98 at Walmart. An environmentally conscious consumer can choose reusable beeswax to keep food fresh, but will earn him $ 20.
In early January, Wonder Woman herself, Gal Gadot, became the new face of Smart Water, the brand of plastic bottles owned by Coca-Cola. Gadot announced this collaboration on Instagram, underlining his enthusiasm for Coca-Cola’s commitment to sustainability and the commitment to making their plastic bottles 100% recyclable.
In previous interviews, Gadot described how important sustainability is to her. He intentionally models sustainable behavior for his daughters, teaching them to recycle, not to use plastic bags, and not to travel in private jets, so why did he collaborate with a company that is the largest plastic polluter in the world? Coca-Cola produces over 3 million tons of plastic packaging every year. Surely, he could have collaborated with S’well or Hydro Flask instead.
Gadot may try to model sustainable behavior for his daughters, but he certainly isn’t for his millions of followers. This is the celebrity paradox in 2020. These giants of popular culture espouse the gospel of environmentalism but continue to lead deeply unethical and full of environmental problems lives despite their considerable financial means, tacitly encouraging their fans to follow their villain example.
As environmentalism emerges as a dominant trend, celebrity behaviors have started to change. The 2020 BAFTA Awards asked guests to dress “sustainably”. Duchess Kate Middleton has granted this request by wearing a 2012 dress, but it is not enough.
As consumers of celebrity culture, we can push for change. We can reject the need to buy and buy and buy until our closets explode with clothes, tags still on. We can be ashamed of behavior instead of rewarding it. Kim and her sister Kourtney recently promised to give up disposable plastic bottles after the fans kick back.
At the end of the day, the celebrities we love are themselves produced, packaged and sold to us through social media. We are consumers and we have the power to stop buying these celebrities and their bad habits. Vote with your dollars, or in this case, your likes on Instagram.
Ellen Murray is a senior writer who talks about being a millennial. His column, “‘Kid Unleashed from the 90s “, he runs every the other Monday.