Kourtney Kardashian x Boohoo: A show started in the dark; and a collection that kept us there

Figure 1 Kourtney Kardashian, Boohoo press image, The Industry. Fashion

Following the announcement of Kourtney Kardashian as its new sustainability ambassador, there has been non-stop conversation and scrutiny of Boohoo’s reputation for misleading their customers. In recent years they have come under fire for their unfair and unsafe working conditions, both in the UK and abroad. Coupling this with Kourtney’s lack of effort in the past to use her platform to advocate for sustainability in fashion, doesn’t start this collaboration out on the strongest note.

Using buzzwords such as “traceable, durable, honest and sustainable” when promoting their joint venture, begs the question how? How is a company that is, currently under investigation for greenwashing going to show they’ve made a change? How is a celebrity who has confessed herself that she has little to no knowledge of the world of sustainability going to hold a huge company accountable for their actions? How do the pieces in this collection differ from other pieces on the site already? How do they deliver on the promises made during marketing?

With 198million followers on Instagram it was undeniable that Kourtney would bring unprecedented attention to Boohoo and their collection, as it has done for countless past brand deals. The difference with this collection as highlighted by Kourtney was that it was supposed to start a conversation. She hoped it would get people talking about fast fashion, sustainability and what changes can be made by both the consumer and businesses to support sustainable practices. However, now that the conversation has started, how are Boohoo and Kourtney contributing to it and answering people’s many questions?

Following the launch of the collection and the NYFW show, there has been a lack of interest and enthusiasm on Kourtney’s part to show a change in how she is using her platform. If you look at Kourtney’s Instagram on any given day there is no sign that she is working with Boohoo. What you will be made highly aware of is her wellness company Poosh and the upcoming launch of her new vitamin and supplement brand Lemme where she posts multiple stories every day promoting both these ventures.

The lack of effort shown by Kourtney doesn’t exactly instil confidence that she is interested in learning about or living a more sustainable lifestyle. In fact, just last month, she was issued a “letter of exceedance” by her local water company. Since there was a drought declared in southern California, Kourtney has used 150% of her water budget at least 4 times. This once again brings up the question of, is this the right person to be driving real change within a company so large and notorious for it’s unethical practices?

I was hopeful that the docuseries on Boohoo’s YouTube channel, would answer a lot of questions and showcase the changes Boohoo is making. Unfortunately, while the docuseries gave a platform to the many non-profit organisations, to talk about the effects of fast fashion on the industry, it failed to have Boohoo hold themselves accountable or truly show the changes they are making or have made already. It’s one thing for Kourtney and Boohoo to listen to experts and learn more about making sustainable choices when creating clothing, it’s another to actually implement these changes into their collection. As a company with over 40,000 pieces on it’s website and that continue to upload over 700 new items every week, Boohoo is still promoting mass consumption and waste. Telling consumers to re-ware, recycle and repair without facilitating the change, is not enough.

Boohoo Group co-founder and executive director Carol Kane told Forbes at the NYFW fashion show: “There are ways the fashion industry can be smarter. Boohoo has taken the bold decision to listen to our customers when they tell us they want to make more sustainable choices, but that the jargon makes it hard to really understand what their options are.”

This is interesting because after taking a closer look at Boohoo’s claims about this collection, many of them are exaggerated and sell a story that has no proof to back them up. They claim that the collection is made from sustainable/recycled materials but Boohoo’s sustainability policy states a garment only needs to contain 20% of sustainable/recycled materials to qualify.

During interviews, they stated multiple times they wanted the collection to be more ‘durable’ and last longer to reduce waste, but they give little to no information as to how the products are any more durable than other pieces on the site. ‘Traceable’ is another word they have used to sell the collection. They state that products can be traced back to the farms where cotton was grown or factories they were made in. This claim applies to the pieces made with cotton from the organisation “Cotton Connect” of which there are 2 in the entire collection. So calling the collection traceable is a great exaggeration.

They hear consumers asking for more sustainable options. Instead of actually using their power to give customers what they want and drive real change in the fast fashion industry. Boohoo continues to keep consumers in the dark and bank on a lack of knowledge in order to sell ‘sustainable’ clothing without providing real proof to customers.

So, while Kourtney and Boohoo could have taken advantage of this opportunity to use what experts are telling them and create real change, sadly it appears to be just like any other celebrity collaboration designed to sell massive amounts of product.

It will be interesting to see what else we hear about Kourtney’s time with Boohoo and whether we might, actually, start to see a shift in Boohoo’s practices and openness with consumers.