The climate crisis may have just met its match in Kim Kardashian’s free and frozen nipples.
“The earth’s temperature is getting hotter and hotter. The sea levels are rising. The ice sheets are shrinking,” Skims founder Kim Kardashian quips in a video shared to the Skims Instagram this morning.
The skit, written by comedian Michelle Wolf, is very much an actual promotion for a push-up bra with exposed nipples. The new bra goes on sale next week, and ten percent of sales will be supporting 1% for the Planet, the global nonprofit that encourages corporations to prioritize earth-friendly efforts.
In case you’re a little lost, it’s a bra — a real bra — but perhaps the first mass-market bra with built-in fake, perky nipples. And it’s being sold to raise money to fight climate change.
Obviously.
“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,” Kardashian says in the video. And if the climate crisis goes unchecked, we’ll be running short on naturally cold days, and, presumably, naturally hard nipples.
“Some days are hard, but these nipples are harder,” Kardashian says. “And unlike these icebergs, these [nipples] aren’t going anywhere.”
She’s not wrong there. The climate crisis is putting pressure on icebergs and ecosystems large and small. The new product, which, again, is a real bra with fake nipples built in, builds on Skims’ and Kardashian’s climate commitments. Back in January, the shapewear label joined Boom Supersonic, Canva, and Zendesk to become one of the first customers of the climate platform Watershed in the Frontier market commitment initiative. It’s working to accelerate “permanent carbon removal” efforts.
Kardashian is no stranger to the climate crisis. She’s reduced her meat consumption and put her star power behind the vegan meat brand Beyond Meat. Her Skkn skincare label promotes refill and recycling as well as clean ingredients. And she’s been vocal about the issue.
“I believe in climate change, and I believe that anything can help,” she told Interview magazine last year. “But I also believe in being realistic and I think sometimes there’s so much to worry about on this planet, and it can be really scary to live your life with anxiety.”
Like other members of her celebrity family, Kardashian came under scrutiny for her use of private jets. Cosmopolitan reported Kardashian’s private jet produced more than 4,200 metric tons of CO2 last year, which is more than 600 times the average person.
The Kardashian-Jenners appear to be doing their part. Khloe Kardashian’s Good American denim label is B-Corp certified; so is Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila. Earlier this week, Kylie Jenner announced her new clothing label Khy, with a faux leather launch.
But the Earth Day organization says Skims’ sustainability commitments are questionable. It calls the label a “fast fashion wolf in shapewear’s clothing.”
“Skims uses misleading marketing to present the company as sustainable,” the organization said in a post published earlier this year. It says Skims’ claims in regard to its packaging are “an example of greenwashing.” Packaging included a type of plastic, according to Earth Day, even though the company claims to not use plastic shipping materials and the packaging is stamped to read “I am not plastic.”
According to Earth Day, though, a closer inspection of the bags revealed a number 4 icon, “which indicates that it is made from low-density polyethylene (LDPE). LDPE is a synthetic plastic that is very difficult to recycle. The company’s claim that the bags are not made of any plastic is misleading.”
It also criticized the brand for its use of plastic-based nylon and polyester in its shapewear; while there are cotton offerings, more than 50 percent of the current materials used in Skims products are polyester or nylon.
But with climate action an imperative, particularly as COP28 nears, is any effort too small?
“I’m not a scientist, but I do believe everyone can use their skills to do their part,” Kardashian says in the ad. And if the Skims Ultimate Nipple Bra doesn’t do the trick, we can all try going braless. You know. For the planet.
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