Billie Eilish Is Calling For Artists To Be More Sustainable
Beyond that, she recently announced her third album, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, to be released May 17, 2024. She spent the days leading up to the announcement building excitement by adding all of her Instagram followers to her “Close Friends” list. Eilish had the most Instagram followers in 48 hours…with her count increasing by 7 million followers total.
While her debut album, when we all fall asleep…where do we go?, was a chart-topper in its own right, it landed Billie every GRAMMY it was nominated for at the ripe age of 18…Eilish has solidified herself as one of the most revered and sought-after popstars in the world.
Eilish recently caught media attention for quietly revealing her sexuality. In an interview with Variety, she states that she’s always liked girls…and assumed people always knew that. In a viral snippet from her new song, LUNCH, she details a love affair with a girl.
But people don’t only adore Billie for her catchy tracks that consistently top the charts. It’s not just her songwriting ability and unique vocals that keep us hooked. People love her because she’s unafraid to speak her mind.
Whether it be complaining about too many influencers being at an awards show, or calling out other artists for using unsustainable practices…Billie does not hold back.
Billie Eilish On Sustainability
Eilish home
rethinkingthefuture.com
The Eilish home is iconic for many reasons: it’s where Billie and Finneas recorded her debut album, countless other songs, and EPs, in an effort to conserve water there’s no grass, and the roof is covered in solar panels. And being environmentally conscious extends beyond the four walls of their home.
When the hottest young talent is discovered at such an early age like Eilish, record labels are chomping at the bit to sign them. It’s like when a D1 athlete is ready to commit to college…you have your pick.
But what Eilish and her mom, Maggie Baird, were looking for wasn’t about money or label-perks…they were seeking a solid sustainability program. And while that may seem like standard practice, most labels didn’t bring up environmental policies during these meetings at all.
After signing to The Darkroom via Interscope Records, the struggle didn’t stop there. Billie Eilish and her family have been consistent contributors to the fight against climate change.
Maggie Baird has since started Support + Feed, which focuses on the climate crisis and food insecurity. Support + Feed helped Eilish’s 2022 Happier Than Ever tour save 8.8 million gallons of water through plant-based meal service for the artist and crew members.
During Billie’s 2023 Lollapalooza performance, she aided the launch and funding of REVERB’s Music Decarbonization Project – which guaranteed all battery systems used during her set were solar powered. The MCD’s overall mission is to lower – and eventually eliminate –the music industry’s carbon emissions.
But more recently, Billie Eilish called out other artists for releasing multiple versions of vinyls in order to boost vinyl sales. In an interview with Billboard, she says,
“We live in this day and age where, for some reason, it’s very important to some artists to make all sorts of different vinyl and packaging … which ups the sales and ups the numbers and gets them more money and gets them more…”
Artists convince fans to buy different versions of their albums by offering exclusive features on each vinyl. Take Taylor Swift, for example, who released five separate vinyl versions of Midnights, each with a different deluxe “Vault” track.
While Billie may not have been trying to shade one artist in particular, the point is that she’s fed up. After being the rare artist in the industry who go out of their way to remain environmentally conscious, Eilish sets the bar high.
How Eilish’s New Album Is Sustainable
Billie for "Hit Me Hard and Soft"
William Drumm
Social media users were quick to claim Eilish was hypocritical by announcing that HIT ME HARD AND SOFT will have eight vinyl variations. However, each vinyl is made from recycled materials – either 100% recycled black vinyl or BioVinyl, which replaces petroleum used during manufacturing with recycled cooking oil.
This just illustrates that Eilish wasn’t directing criticism towards other artists for using vinyl variants to gain album sales…but she does think there are better ways to do it that benefit the environment without hurting their sales.
PacCares: How Pacsun and Rare Beauty Are Teaming Up To Support Mental Health
And you obviously know Rare Beauty by now…the Selena Gomez-founded beauty brand with viral products such as a heavily pigmented blush. Sure, Rare Beauty has firmly established itself as a staple makeup brand, but there’s also the Rare Impact Fund.
The Rare Impact Fund is dedicated to mental health advocacy and expanding mental health services and education for our younger generations globally. The goal is to raise over $100 million in the next 10 years, with 1% of all proceeds from Rare Beauty sales going towards the Rare Impact Fund.
In an effort to support the Rare Impact Fund’s commitment to mental health, Pacsun launched PacCares. This philanthropic collaboration includes Pacsun making a $100,000 donation to the Rare Impact Fund, creating a denim line where proceeds will go towards the fund, and raising awareness via their clothing and social media for mental health.
The Rare Impact Fund has already raised over $6 million since its creation in 2020. However, this partnership with PacCares is guaranteed to shine fresh light on mental health support.
A Little About Rare Impact Fund
We’ve already raved about the beauty of Selena’s charity…but we’ll go ahead and gush about it again. The Rare Impact Fund is based on Selena’s Rare album, which coincided with the beauty brand's release.
Many people may not realize that when they’re buying Rare Beauty’s iconic blushes or viral highlighters, they’re also contributing to the facilitation of mental health education and resources.
They make this possible by collaborating with donors, grantees, and members of the community to normalize mental illness and provide young people with the necessary resources to get the help they need.
This can be through social media campaigns, raising money via charity events, collaborating with brands like Pacsun, and more. The Rare Impact Fund knows no boundaries when it comes to spreading the word about mental health awareness.
It’s an integral part of Selena Gomez’s brand to make sure everyone feels beautiful and accepted at all times. It’s why she created a makeup brand that’s both inclusive and innovative. And it’s why she created the Rare Impact Fund, to help make a difference and leverage her platform for good.
Inside PacCares
PacCaresPacsun
When two industry giants like Pacsun and Rare Beauty partner up and commit to “doing better”…you know magic is about to happen.
PacCares is dedicated to supporting charitable organizations that fit the values and mission of Pacsun. The Rare Impact Fund’s goal is to inspire more individuals to seek support and destigmatize getting help for our mental health.
With a few creative initiatives planned, the PacCares Collection is one of the easiest ways to help support mental health advocacy. All you have to do is shop the PacCares Collection in-store or online and a portion of the proceeds will be donated…it makes it even easier that the clothes are cute.
It’s essentially the same format as Rare Beauty: you’re contributing to charity while also giving yourself a gift. But I’m most excited about the denim collection. The line will debut in fall 2024 and promises to be sustainable, with 10% of proceeds going toward the RIF.
While my original New Year’s Resolution was to shop more sustainably, my new goal is shopping brands that contribute a portion to charity. Pacsun and Rare Beauty are two great options to start with.
"We are proud to share that we have partnered with the Rare Impact Fund to further our shared missions of empowering young people to care for their mental health," said Pacsun CEO Brie Olson. "Pacsun will collaborate with the Rare Impact Fund to raise awareness to destigmatize mental health, direct funding to youth mental health organizations, and expand access to educational resources across the globe."
Our Favorite Pieces From the PacCares Collection
PacCares CollectionPacsun
PacCares Around The Town Flare Yoga Pants
PacCares High Neck Seamless Tank Top
PacCares Bergonia Curved Hem Tank Top
PacCares Sleepover Easy T Shirt
The Destruction of Climate Change: The Tree that Inspired Dr. Seuss's "The Lorax" Has Fallen
Image via ABC13
The tree in question was a Monterey Cypress, which grew without incident for 80 to 100 years in a La Jolla, California park until it suddenly keeled over on June 16. Dr. Seuss, whose real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel, could see the tree from the La Jolla apartment where he lived from 1948 until his death in 1991. It is believed that the cypress, with its curved trunk and abundant leaves, inspired the Truffala Trees that the Lorax in the story dedicates himself to defending—until a greedy factory owner cuts them all down, poisons the rivers, and fills the sky with smog. At the end of the story, the Lorax hangs his head and floats off into a tiny gap in the clouds, lamenting the death of his beloved forest and the creatures that called it home.
The Lorax- trailerwww.youtube.com
In 1971, the year "The Lorax" was published, scientists were just beginning to sound the alarm about climate change. That year, a coalition of leading scientists reported significant risks from global climate change caused by human activity; by the end of the decade, scientific consensus identified global warming as the largest risk of the 21st century. Still, largely due to misleading reports from companies like Exxon, right-wing denialist think tanks, multi-million dollar denial campaigns, and bribes given to politicians by oil barons and investors such as the Koch Brothers, climate change was delegitimized, relegated to the back burner of public and political consciousness.
Flash forward to 2019, and the consequences of that corruption and ignorance are coming back to bite all of us. Wildfires, hurricanes, tsunamis, and droughts—each of which has catalyzed waves of refugees and deepened wounds of already existent economic disparity—are just a few of the visible consequences of climate change; and the worst is yet to come. Roughly 80,000 acres of forest disappear each day, with another 80,000 experiencing significant degradation. Plusm 1 million species are teetering on the brink of extinction.
If the loss of forests and biodiversity is not enough to chill you to the bone, the effects on humanity have been severe and will become unimaginably extreme if we continue at our current pace of unchecked destruction. Climate change threatens coastal cities with flooding, displaces millions, exacerbates health problems like infectious diseases, triggers asthma attacks, and destroys infrastructure and agriculture. It can cause mental illness and it disadvantages the most vulnerable, threatening communities and nations who lack the resources needed to bounce back from ecological disasters.
And even if you don't give a shit about poor people, you're still not safe—for climate change will pose significant risks to financial markets, with food costs, insurance markets, and the mortgage industry all at risk. (For proof, just look at the millions of dollars in liability costs and subsequent bankruptcy faced by Pacific Gas and Electric after the 2018 California wildfires).
So in the shadow of all this horrifying information, it doesn't seem so far-fetched that the tree that inspired one of the greatest tales of environmental destruction has fallen. Sure, maybe there was something wrong with its roots, or maybe the excess of poison or smoke from the fires or the gas leaks or the plastic particles in the salt-choked rivers did it in. Or maybe the tree just gave up, realizing that the earth was no longer a place for growing things. Its death feels like the real-world embodiment of the Lorax floating away into the murky skies, looking sadly down on the scorched earth that used to hold thousands of trees.
Image via techwithkids.com
Of course, the Seussian tale doesn't end with the Lorax's departure. It begins when the kid in the story gets the Once-ler to tell him what happened to the Lorax, and it ends when the Once-ler drops him a tiny Truffala tree seed. "UNLESS someone like you cares a whole lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not," says the old storyteller, imploring the kid (and by proxy, all readers) to try and do something, even if it starts with one seed.
In a world where Greta Thunberg—a sixteen-year-old playing hooky—is the most powerful voice in ecological activism, Dr. Seuss's message doesn't seem too starry-eyed. Small, improbable leaps of faith might be insignificant in themselves, but they can start waves of action that could be our best chance at launching the worldwide action needed to build a viable (and potentially more equitable) society.
image via weheartit