What’s more ridiculous than a Kardashian as sustainability ambassador? A Kardashian as sustainability ambassador for fast fashion brand boohoo.com.
Yes, you read that right. In what could be this century’s most jaw-dropping act of flagrant greenwashing, Kourtney Kardashian Barker has revealed she is fast-fashion label boohoo.com’s new “sustainability ambassador.”
Where do we begin?
Hold the Phone – Boohoo.com Has a Sustainability Ambassador?
First things first, a little background on boohoo.com. It’s one of the UK’s biggest fast-fashion retailers, with a business model similar to dodgy discount fashion behemoth Shein. Until 2021, the company’s website boasted about the 500 new products it put online in one week, where an item can go from the designer’s notebook onto the site and then straight to sale in just two weeks. When this news came out, Autumn-Winter 2022 winter coats were going for just £10 ($11.50).
These clothes are not intended to last. It’s hard to believe that a company that makes sustainable clothing with good-quality, lasting material would sell a winter coat for £10 ($11.50). Those winter coats will likely join the 85 percent of textiles that end up in dumps every year.
And the problem seems to be getting worse. According to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the emissions from textile manufacturing are expected to soar by a troubling 60 percent by 2030.
Boohoo.com, one of Europe’s largest fast-fashion houses, has recently caught its fair share of criticism. In 2019, the Environmental Audit Committee named it one of the UK’s least sustainable fashion brands. This considered the company’s part in encouraging rampant overconsumption while simultaneously putting zero effort into reducing its carbon footprint.
As of July 2022, the UK’s competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority, is still investigating Boohoo over greenwashing claims.
It’s worth pointing out that this unwanted media attention doesn’t just span their disastrous record on sustainability. As recently as 2020, boohoo.com was caught paying their UK garment workers an illegally low hourly wage of just £3.50 ($4.40). It really puts that £10 coat into perspective, doesn’t it?
Boohoo is actually award-winning in its unethical approach. Under the Ethical Consumer rating system, the company is ranked:
- Worst Ethical Consumer rating for environmental reporting
- Worst Ethical Consumer rating for palm oil sourcing
- Worst Ethical Consumer rating for cotton sourcing
- Worst Ethical Consumer rating for toxic chemicals
- Worst Ethical Consumer rating for supply chain management
- Worst Ethical Consumer rating for animal testing policy
- Worst Ethical Consumer rating for likely tax avoidance
Boohoo Cries Out for Better PR
Fast forward to 2022. As seen in the staff payment issue, one thing boohoo.com cares about is money. Boohoo saw its revenues fall eight percent to £445.7 million ($515 million) in the three months to 31 May, with its extensive and largely negative media appearances likely playing a role.
This undoubtedly ruffled some feathers in the boohoo.com offices. But, instead of the smart, responsible choice of stepping back, taking stock and addressing the issues at hand, they hired a Kardashian to host a series of interviews about fashion with self-appointed “sustainability experts.”
According to the press release, Kourtney will also be “delivering two capsule collections that have been created in tandem with a journey of investigation into opportunities for creating a more sustainable fashion future.”
Yes, that should do it.
Kourtney Kardashian Barker was, in a way, the obvious choice for the role. She and her sisters regularly hit the headlines for their environmentally damaging pursuits. Just weeks before the announcement, Kardashian was exposed for reportedly going 101,000 gallons over the recommended water limit for her two-acre Calabasas home. She also regularly flaunts her glamorous, ecologically-harmful lifestyle on social media, private jets and all.
And, like boohoo.com, she thinks nothing of trying to tout green credentials. Take the example of a recent trip to Hawaii, where she urged her 196 million followers to “take care [of the earth] every day.”
Furthermore, in February 2022, the 43-year-old posted a CO2 tracker to her Instagram story, where she wrote, “Time to get our shit together.” A few months later, her sisters Kim and Kylie and brother-in-law Travis Scott made it to the list of top-10 celebrities with the worst CO2 emissions. Maybe she could have saved the advice for her family.
What Does Kourtney Have To Say About All This?
And, like boohoo.com, she knows what people want to hear. As soon as the partnership was announced, she released a statement addressing the controversy:
“When Boohoo first approached me with this idea that was all about sustainability and style, I was concerned about the effects of the fast fashion industry on our planet. Boohoo responded with excitement and a desire to incorporate more sustainable practices into our line. It’s been an enlightening experience speaking directly with industry experts.
There’s still lots of work to be done and improvements to be made, but I truly believe that any progress we can make when it comes to sustainability is a step in the right direction and will open up the conversation for future advancements.”
We’ll see about that.
Read more:
- 6 Great Places to Buy and Sell Secondhand Clothes Online
- 3 Simple Questions That Will Make You Quit Fast Fashion
- What to Do With Old Clothes: 10 Impactful Ideas
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