By Riley Eisenbeil
Staff Writer
Kim Kardashian strikes again with The Skims Ultimate Nipple Bra — letting her privilege and blindness to real-world issues show.
On the brink of Palestine crumbling, stories highlighting marginalized voices being banned and the ongoing climate crisis, celebrities like Kim Kardashian are showing they care more about making money than using their millions, or billions, of dollars to effectively enact change.
Kardashian’s newest Skims product is a bra with built-in nipples and her reasoning for it is simple: let’s do our part in battling climate change. Sounds great, right? Well, not exactly.
“I’m not a scientist, but I do believe everyone can still use their skillset to do their part. That’s why I’m introducing a brand new bra with a built-in nipple so no matter how hot it is, you’ll always look cold,” said Kardashian in an Instagram reel posted last week. “Some days are hard, but these nipples are harder. And unlike the icebergs, these aren’t going anywhere.”
In the reel, Kardashian is seen wearing rectangular glasses and a form-fitting nude two-piece outfit with her new nipple bra underneath. She is depicted working in an aesthetic-looking office, pointing to a bra diagram, all while making jokes about climate change.
The stylistic choices aim to present her as professional and trustworthy, though it’s primarily a marketing ploy. Some Instagram users have called her out for this in the comments section.
“Weird to use the climate crisis as a marketing tactic,” said @naomiyates_. “SKIMS using the climate crisis as a marketing tactic is greenwashing at its finest,” said @pamela__ea. “We are literally living in [a] dystopia,” said @noodle.niamh.
While some suggested marketing this towards breast cancer survivors would have been a better way of advertising, that’s not how Skims did it. Using the climate crisis as a marketing strategy is proof of just how out of touch celebrities like Kardashian are. She has the privilege to joke about it because the effects of it will not personally impact her — or if they start to, she has the safety blanket of a disposable income.
In hopes of “doing their part,” Skims noted in the caption of the aforementioned reel that they are donating 10% of sales from this new bra to One Percent For The Planet, an organization that partners with businesses and commits to “donating at least 1% of annual sales directly to environmental organizations… in hopes of ensuring our planet and future generations thrive,” according to their mission statement.
While donating a portion of the funds from a sale is common and is better than nothing, that mindset is not enough when it comes to the climate crisis. The bra retails for $62 and only $6.20 of it is being donated. The amount the company is donating is seemingly nothing compared to the $750,000 they are estimated to make in sales this year and the $4 billion value it has accumulated, according to USA Today. Even if they donated more, money can only do so much.
Good For You, a thorough rating system of ethical and sustainable fashion, rates Skims at its lowest possible ranking titled “We Avoid.” In an article posted to their website discussing how ethical the company is, they noted that the brand’s frequently asked questions section highlights they have “removed all plastic and non-recyclable materials from packaging and replaced them with FSC recycled paper boxes and compostable, eco-friendly bags.”
They use a “film packaging” that says “I AM NOT PLASTIC” on the front when it is still technically made of plastic. The site, as well as commenters on Instagram, have called the brand out for this exact thing: greenwashing.
Greenwashing is a deceptive marketing tactic where an organization focuses more on appearing eco-friendly in their marketing than on actually reducing their environmental impact.
In an infographic carousel co-posted on Instagram by users @Impact and @Environment, they wrote, “We wouldn’t need a climate-proof bra if the world's wealthiest didn't have such a large carbon footprint.”
They noted how 57 flights in Kardashian’s private jets emitted 4,268.5 tons of carbon emission while the average gasoline vehicle on the road emits about 4.6 tons of carbon every year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
While Skims has the potential to make a substantial impact on helping the climate crisis, Kardashian is not exactly setting them up for success in that area. Her actions appear more driven by image and publicity rather than genuine long-term change. By using climate change as a reason for her new bra, she is trying to pull viewers in to make them believe she holds the same values as the general public — what’s scary is that it is working in some regard.
“Kimberly’s by far the best marketer of the year,” said @shiff.fu on Instagram.
Other commenters had a similar approach saying Kardashian is a genius and that she is a “girl’s girl.” Moving forward it is important to hold public figures accountable for their actions and encourage them to use their platforms for meaningful, sustained impact rather than merely for personal gain or reputation enhancement since that is not going to solve anything.
