When the Gloss Fades: Skims and the Ethics of Celebrity Brands

In early 2024, Skims found itself uncomfortably exposed when Remake’s Fashion Accountability Report revealed that the brand had scored lower than fast-fashion giant Shein on key metrics such as supply chains, fair wages, and environmental justice.

Remakes Accountability Report

Each year, Remake evaluates 52 of the world’s biggest and most well known fashion brands against an extensive set of criteria that bridges the gap between human rights and environmental impact. From fair wages to environmental justice, the report offers a comprehensive view hard to find anywhere else. The report serves not only as a guide for consumers seeking to shop more consciously, but also as a starting off point for advocacy and systemic change within the fashion industry.

Following a headline-making $4 billion valuation , Skims was placed alongside brands such as H&M, Shein, Victoria’s Secret, and Boohoo in the latest report. As with all participants, Skims was invited to provide Remake with information regarding its sustainability and ethics practices to ensure a fair assessment.

While many brands—Chanel, Forever 21, and even Shein—chose to engage with the process, despite still receiving less-than-impressive scores, Skims made no such effort. The silence spoke volumes, suggesting that Kim Kardashian and her team appeared uninterested in presenting Skims as even aspirationally ethical or sustainable let alone the real deal. Although, this shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise…a celebrity brand with little to no values, ethical or morals. No more than a cash crab some may say.

Not Her First Rodeo 

This wasn’t the brand’s first dip into murky controversy waters. According to Greenwash, Skims had previously delivered products in packaging boldly labeled “I’m not plastic”, much to consumers’ delight - until closer inspection revealed that the material was, in fact, plastic. To almost no one’s surprise might I add. The deceiving packing shamelessly bore the number “4”, identifying it as Low-Density Polyethylene, leaving Skims red-faced in what was a classic case of greenwashing and severe lack of attention to detail.

Unfortunately for Skims, the awkward moments didn’t end there. In a tongue-in-cheek advert, Kim, styled as a news reporter, quipped about the effects of climate change. You know, just some light mocking of the melting icebergs and many other catastrophic changes that could cause unknown amounts of havoc and devastation to much of the world’s population. While wearing her now-infamous “fake nipple” bra, she continued to joke that no matter how hot the Earth gets, you’ll always be able to pull off the cold look.

A cheeky nod to the absurdity of climate catastrophe or a tone-deaf glamorisation of it? Maybe an unsettling glimpse into the fashion trends of the future. Could looking cold become the new status symbol of the uber rich as us common folk melt away in the increasingly scorching summers. Either way, the satire landed uncomfortably close to the truth offering up  a depressing future where environmental degradation becomes just another aesthetic and we’re all walking around with fake nipples. I can’t wait.

Why Do We Let Them Get Away With It? 

Skims’ indifference toward sustainability raises a larger question: why do we continue to glorify celebrity-led brands that show so little accountability or care? It’s hard to imagine the shape-wear and underwear giant surviving such scrutiny without Kim’s face fronting the campaign, shielding it from the backlash that might have sunk the ship of a lesser-known name. It appears that no matter what Kim conjures up in the Skims HQ, it’ll be smooth sailing for the brands profits.

With Remake’s 2026 report still pending, one can only wonder if Skims will have learned from its pitiful 2024 performance, or will history repeat itself, glossy as ever on the surface but hollow underneath. The pessimist in me has a sneaky suspicion things won’t have improved, or certainly not enough, but I do hope reports such as Remakes inspire brands to do better and arm consumers with the information to shop wiser and demand for a greener future.

So the question I leave you with today is - have you ever bought from Skims and if so what convinced you to do so? Equally, if you haven’t purchased from Skims, why not?

Written by, Jeanie Myers