At this point, it should come as no surprise that the Internet is mad at something a Kardashian has done. The family is known to occupy the news cycle regularly because of their antics, with everyone and their mothers having extensive opinions about it.
So it wasn’t shocking at all when Kourtney Kardashian decided to collaborate with fast fashion retailer Boohoo, leading to enormous backlash from the Internet and environmental activists.
Earlier this month, Kardashian was named the ‘Sustainability Ambassador’ of the brand with the announcement that their collaboration would include two collections of sustainable garments and a glimpse into the reality TV star’s sustainable fashion journey. The collab also marked Kardashian’s debut at New York Fashion Week.
People were quick to point out that it looked like a blatant attempt at greenwashing. In case you’re not in the know, greenwashing is a marketing tactic to make a brand or product deceptively seem environmentally friendly.
Boohoo is one of the least sustainable fast fashion brands at the moment and is known to be exploitative in its practices. In a 2019 report by the Environmental Audit Committee, Boohoo was named one of the least eco-conscious brands in the UK. Reports of the terrible working conditions in the label’s manufacturing plants also surfaced during the lockdown.
This is why Kardashian was prepared for the backlash the collaboration would receive on the Internet.
She took to Instagram to address the criticism for her sustainable clothing line with the fast fashion label. According to her, she went back and forth about doing the collection with Boohoo because the first thing she thinks about when she hears ‘fast fashion’ is that it’s bad for the planet.
“I knew it would get backlash because the two just don’t go hand in hand,“ she wrote, then adding that she felt she could use her influence to bring attention to the impact of fast fashion on the planet and help make Boohoo make some initial changes while holding them accountable to larger change because the fast fashion industry “isn’t going anywhere”.
She continued, claiming that the collaboration has made just the noise she was hoping for, “I certainly don’t have all the answers, but for someone who has done a fast fashion line collaboration in the past, which didn’t get backlash because I was not calling attention to trying to make better changes, I feel proud about doing it with intention and purpose.”
She invited people to educate her on where the collection might be falling short and help improve the label’s policies as well. “I invite any experts who have ideas, suggestions (I have already seen some of you and will absolutely be reaching out to talk and learn more) to reach out. I want to help and from my experience so far working with the team I work with at Boohoo, they do too. I will be elaborating on their changes, how we’ve made this line more sustainable, and what I’ve learned we as consumers can do to help… all to come!! (sic)”
Do you think Kourtney Kardashian’s collection will bring about a change like she thinks it would?
