Kim K's new nipple bra ad is greenwashing
Screenshots of Kim Kardashian’s new ad for the SKIMS Ultimate Nipple Bra. Source: Kim Kardashian Instagram
An expert in the deceptive marketing tactic explains.
by EMILY ATKIN and ARIELLE SAMUELSON
Definition: Green·washing (grēn-wȯsh-ing)
verb - to put more effort into marketing oneself as doing good things for the planet than on actually doing good things for the planet.
noun - a misleading advertising gimmick used by companies to exaggerate their environmentally friendly actions for the purpose of selling more product to climate-concerned customers.
Used in a sentence: Kim Kardashian’s new viral commercial for an undergarment with perpetually hard nipples may seem silly and harmless, even laudable—but it is a textbook example of corporate greenwashing.
I just want to start this off by saying I love a good climate change joke. The darker the better.
Just yesterday, a friend who is also a climate journalist sent me a mug with a picture of a burning Earth on it that says, “The climate beat: So hot right now.” We joke to cope with professional lives dedicated to telling stories about one of the most deadly injustices known to humanity. We laugh because we have to.
So when I saw Kim Kardashian’s new commercial for the SKIMS Ultimate Nipple Bra— which is essentially a bra with built-in hard nipples—my first reaction was to laugh. It pokes fun at the climate crisis in both a dark and racy way
Here’s what the whole thing says:
See, it’s very funny! Except for one, super small, teeny-weeny thing:
Kim Kardashian, the person telling us this joke, is not doing it to ease the existential burden of living through the climate crisis—a burden she, a billionaire, does not personally have to grapple with.
Kim Kardashian, billionaire, is telling us this climate joke…to sell shit. Fossil-fuel derived shit. While she flies in a private jet that annually emits 610 times more than the average person emits in a year; while she operates multiple billion-dollar businesses dedicated to fueling unhinged consumerism of fossil fuel-derived plastic products; while she refuses to disclose the emissions of those businesses; and while she tells the rest of the world to be “realistic” about climate solutions.
Kim Kardashian is also telling this joke while assuring us she is, in fact, in the fight to solve climate change with us; that she is doing her part more than she is contributing to the problem. Alongside the ad, Kardashian announced that “in addition to our investment in advancing carbon removal, SKIMS is proud to donate 10 percent of sales from our SKIMS Ultimate Nipple Bra, as a one-time donation, to 1% for the Planet,” a global environmental nonprofit.
Kardashian has been repeatedly praised for this donation, as if it is some sort of philanthropic achievement for the planet. But it is not. It is an extremely vague commitment; nearly impossible to check up on (just like the rest of her companies); and absolutely minuscule compared to her personal contribution to the problem.
And sure, the Ultimate Nipple Bra is not just any product; it is a product that has been lauded as “significant for those who have fought breast cancer and for trans women.” That’s great, and we have absolutely no issue with that.
The issue we see here is joking about the climate crisis while pretending you’re seriously in the fight to solve it—and using that fake seriousness to boost your reputation and sell more shit. This is called “greenwashing,” and make no mistake: it’s exactly what Kim Kardashian is doing with this commercial, whether she realizes it or not.