Being eco-conscious and living a healthy lifestyle is expensive nowadays. Swapping plastic bags for paper or a standard tube of toothpaste for charcoal tablets is more costly than one might anticipate. These products, which at their core are supposed to promote a more simplistic and eco-friendly lifestyle, are inaccessible to many.
While scrolling through the results for hashtags like “sustainable living” or “healthy swaps,” you’ll find influencers and brand owners like @loveofearthco who have centered their platforms on their zero-waste lifestyle. This means that they do not produce the garbage that a normal household accumulates. The founder of Love of Earth and her family use and sell expensive products meant to be environmentally conscious, but are not financially feasible for the masses.
For example, on her website, you will find that she sells a single jar of toothpaste tablets for $30. These tablets are zero-waste and made with sustainable ingredients, and you are provided with a three-month supply. However, when you compare it to a tube of Crest, which you can get at Target for about $5, and can last 2-3 times as long as these tablets, it is extremely difficult to justify unless you are extremely committed to this lifestyle, or have a lot of disposable income.
Some celebrities also have joined in on the sustainable lifestyle, but seem to be profiting from an aesthetic rather than making an impact. Gwyneth Paltrow’s brand Goop, which encompasses beauty, fashion, wellness, and more, is an example of this. The website describes their recyclable boxes and favorite sustainable brands of the moment, but it also states that they still have a ways to go in terms of sustainability, without elaborating on what that means.
This lackluster attempt to market an environmentally friendly brand, but the only concrete proof of sustainability is recyclable packaging, is interesting. That said, they do support several sustainable brands and provide helpful terms to know when shopping sustainably, but none of these efforts are particularly special, nor do they justify the outrageous prices of the garments or beauty products sold. Goop markets itself as an eco-friendly brand dedicated to the creation of a greener world but simultaneously sells an average-looking sundress for nearly $700, clearly pointing out who their target demographic is, those that have $700 to spend on a dress you could find at H&M.
This is not to discredit their efforts, however, a brand that champions against climate change like Goop does should want to spread their products amongst people in all different financial situations. Due to the way that their products are targeted towards those who are more affluent, the brand does not seem truly dedicated to sharing their eco-friendliness with anyone other than their target demographic, wealthy people. This business model embodies a sense of exclusivity around a sustainable lifestyle, similar to how Brandy Melville sells one-size clothing that only fits their target demographic, thin women, creating exclusivity around their brand.
Both Love of Earth and Goop are just two examples of the many “sustainable” brands that sell expensive products meant to help you embody a more environmentally friendly lifestyle but simultaneously break the bank. Their high prices for seemingly unnecessary products can only feasibly be purchased by the wealthy, which points to a clear sign of privilege in the implementation of a sustainable lifestyle.
This begs the question: are eco-friendly brands using the environment as a selling point, or are they truly making a difference?
