By Allegra Lai
While someone uses a metal fork instead of a plastic one to eat their lunch, a celebrity’s private jet, probably with monogrammed leather seats, takes off the same minute. True hypocrisy would be if said celebrity went on to advocate for environmental conservation to their fans— however, in most cases, celebrities aren’t explicitly obliged to advocate for the cause. Their responsibility lies in their personal life, where, like every other person, bear the consciousness of saving the earth.
As a celebrity’s platform grows larger, it is positively correlated with a pressure from society to make a bold statement on global affairs. After all, society was the one who put them on that pedestal and handed them the megaphone. However, in the realm of climate change and environmental conservation, celebrities do not bear the obligation of promoting a message to fans. Art isn’t inherently intertwined with sending this specific message. Sure, there might be Art&Activism, but speaking up for climate change isn’t part of their job description. However, celebrities should still be conscious of how their brand impacts climate change— mass producing merchandise in a sweatshop doesn’t exactly help their case. Many popular artists sell official merch at extreme prices already. With prices at around $50 for a graphic T-shirt and $70 for a hoodie, their prices already align with that of clothes produced by environmentally sustainable companies. Though not everyone can afford clothes of that caliber, overzealous fans are paying said prices just to indirectly contribute to greenhouse gases from factories. Out of their own pocket, celebrities should work towards manufacturing and selling unsustainable clothing at extreme prices— after all they have more than enough money in their pocket to fulfil production costs.
A celebrity’s mindset is programmed to believe that money can solve all problems. The sheer abundance they have will reassure them that “quick fix.” This mindset is evident in their extreme uses of private jets as a means of travel. Though one can argue for the necessity of a private jet for safety reasons, or efficiency when artists are touring, most celebrities are prone to overexploiting their resources. Kylie Jenner once posted a picture of herself at an airplane hangar, facing two planes. Insensitively, her post was captioned “Should we take mine or yours?” Quintessentially Kardashian-Jenner (Kylie, there’s people dying out there!”), this post may have seemed like a flex, but it also showed most celebrities’ out-of-touch mentality towards their fans and the environment. While some celebrities may offset their carbon footprint with money, no amount of money to any cause can immediately override the extreme damage that airplanes cause to the environment. No amount of money or fame can justify their bigfoot-sized carbon footprints, and frankly speaking, how many celebrities actually research where they are sending their money to?
