Skims: The Compulsion to Spend and its Consequences

Photo: Nadia Lee Cohen for Skims

Kim Kardashian, the founder of shape-wear brand Skims, is set to launch her swimwear collaboration of dreams with Roberto Cavalli. In half a decade, we have seen Skims in conversations between young girls, plastered on Instagram, amongst debates around the raunchiness of Skims advertisements, and at the centre of discussions on TikTok of the ‘scandalous’ Nipple Bra. 

The attractiveness of a collection with Roberto Cavalli is there. The international success of the brand is all thanks to his notorious prints which shot the designer into stardom in the 90’s, the legacy of which is still apparent in the fashion sphere. We have witnessed a revival of leopard, cheetah, zebra, snake and croc prints in recent runways, which have popularised on social media and have been commodified in fast fashion industries. 

Gen-Z shoppers are carefully curating Pinterest boards plastered with hard-to-find Cavalli pieces. We are en route to a world of fierce fashion, leaving corporate minimalism back in 2024. However, are our Y2K lovers making fashion conscious choices? With the current state of the climate crisis, it is time to discuss the ethicality of Skims. 

The Unexpected Crossover: Climate Activists and the ‘Ultimate Nipple Bra’

Despite the popularity, Skims has made minimal efforts to put sustainability ethos at the forefront of the business according to Good On You. When the launch of the first faux nipple bra was announced, climate activists drove their anger towards their keyboards after the Kardashian created the tag line, “No matter how hot it is, you’ll always look cold,” adding “Unlike the icebergs, these aren’t going anywhere.” Though this may sound like a mockery of our current climate crisis, Skims was said to have donated 10 percent of proceeds from sales to green organisation, One Percent for the Planet. This body intends to incite donation from multinational companies, helping the climate effort.

The ‘Ultimate Nipple Bra’ was greeted with diverse reactions. The sell-out bra was an empowering moment for many women across the world. Nicole Mikhael, 33, told Yahoo Life: “I think that this was something that people didn’t expect, and people forget how many lives or how many people’s self-esteem and mental health it can help just by feeling like they have a full breast with a nipple that’s able to look hard.”

Photo: From Vogue Business/ Courtesy of Skims

Greenpeace UK, however, felt disappointed by the sidelined campaign of the Nipple Bra. The climate activist organisation commented: “Using melting glaciers and rising sea levels as a punch line to improve your profit margins makes a mockery of an issue that is devastating millions of people’s lives.

We desperately need global icons like Kim to champion the fight against climate change.”

Skims X Greenwashing

But the issue didn’t arise independently from the launch of the ‘Ultimate Nipple Bra’. The shapewear brand, known for their figure-hugging underwear and clothing is intentionally made stretchy to get the ‘Kardashian-look’. For this effect to be achieved, without thousands of US dollars, requires stretchy materials like nylon, spandex, cotton, and polyester, all of which contribute to the issue of microfibres. Fashion sustainability expert Good On You has rated Skims as ‘Not Good Enough’ regarding their efforts to opt for sustainable alternatives. 

Photo: Changing Markets Foundation

Let’s consider the materials used to transport your underwear. Skims has told customers that their packaging is compostable.Changing Markets Foundation’s Greenwash Project found that despite Skim’s claim of being a plastic-free business, the packaging used is type 4 low-density polyethylene, which is plastic. So, when you are disposing of your packaging, it is not as eco-friendly as you thought. The issue lies here with the release of microfibres which pollute the planet and pose a threat to our ecosystems. Critics make a point that the Kardashian, as an A-List celebrity, does not take sustainability seriously enough which is hindering change. 

The co-founder of Skims, Jens Grede, said in an interview with the Financial Times that sustainability was at the ‘top of mind [their] minds.’ Yet, little information on climate conscious business choices can be found on the Skims website. 

Skims X Roberto Cavalli: A Climate Protestor’s Idea of Hell

Peta has confirmed that Roberto Cavalli is not dissimilar from their collaborator Skims. The animal-orientated organisation has confirmed that Cavalli tests on animals among other malpractices making the latest Skims launch, a collaboration from hell in the eyes of activists. The Good Stylist have mentioned Cavalli’s use of leather, wool, down and exotic animal skin and hair as a great cause of concern. This comes as no surprise to vintage Cavalli collectors. Questions of morality lie with the fact that Cavalli is hard to get a hold of, given that sought after pieces were created dating back to the 60’s with more ‘modern’ garments deriving from the millennial years, so vintage Cavalli could be seen as acceptable to wear. But whether Cavalli’s sustainability and ethics polices have evolved or not, is it right for fashion lovers to parade in deceased animals? 

But Why Do We Keep Buying Skims When We Know the Facts?

Above all, the most prevalent issue we are facing in a post-Covid world is overconsumption in the hands of online shopping. A staggering fact from the Global Footprint Network shows that we are using resources at 1.7 times the Earth’s capacity to regenerate these materials. Kara Anderson at Greenly said that: “If everyone consumed like the average American, we’d need five Earths to meet global demand.” TikTok has encouraged the sale of poorly produced items for low costs. Constant bombardment of advertisements in the style of social videos may cause an individual to buy a product or clothing item that they do not need. And overconsumption also takes responsibility for the waste caused after the delivery has been made to your door. Even when waste is described as recyclable, malpractice in recycling centres means the greener materials also end up in landfill too. This highlights the importance of why Skims and their greenwashed company should be held to the light. 

The real power lies in the role of the celebrity and their endorsements. In the modern world, celebrities shape consumer habits. Due to the relationship built between the celebrity and the fan, a sense of trust and relatability is fashioned, turning the fan into a consumer who is likely to shop the identity or aesthetic that the celebrity influences. A sense of missing out can encourage a consumer to spend outside of their means or needs due to the exclusivity of the product created by the celebrity endorsement. It was only the other month that the Kardashian released a spin-off of the original Nipple Bra, the pierced version.

Looking at the timeline – checks notes – Skims has announced five other collections since the debut of the ‘Ultimate Nipple Bra’ – namely a Menswear Line, the Swarovski Skims collection, a Spring 2025 Swim Collection, NikeSkims activewear, the Pierced-Nipple Bra. If you missed out on buying a bikini in Spring for your summer holiday, then do not fear, because the Skims X Roberto Cavalli swim drop will be available to buy on 27 June 2025. The consistent launching of the next ‘best thing’ to buy, creates a sense of urgency which consumers latch onto consequently, shoppers fall into the trap of over-consumption. Could it be time to pull out the swimsuit from last summer?