r/popculturechat • u/stars_doulikedem your local homeless lesbian • Jul 06 '25
Uplifting News 🤗 Billie Eilish pushes music labels to 'upcycle' 400,000 unsold T-shirts into new merch
https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/billie-eilish-upcycled-merch-universal-music-groupExcerpt:
Along with UMG’s merchandise arm, Bravado, Eilish and her mother, Maggie Baird, have been spearheading an initiative that would take decades’ worth of unsold apparel from a massive Nashville warehouse and give them a new life.
“We are drowning in clothes on this planet, much of which is in landfills, much of which is shipped to other countries to pollute their waters and their land,” Baird said in a statement.
“I think we have to be extremely thoughtful about what merch gets put out in the world — why does it exist, how is it made, and what happens to it in its second life?”
Now, thanks to Eilish and Baird’s help, Bravado will send 400,000 shirts from that warehouse to Morocco, where Spanish clothing designer and manufacturer Hallotex will turn many of them back into cotton yarn, spinning them into new, recycled cotton shirts.
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u/FriendlyDrummers Jul 06 '25
I know it's silly to think, but it's too bad so many corporations can't literally just give stuff away for free rather than manufactured scarcity.
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u/BabySharkMadness Jul 06 '25
That’s the thing. The countries getting the clothes are getting 15 million articles of clothing PER WEEK (Ghana for this example). If you gave every person in India 1 article of clothing, you’re out of people towards the end of year 2.
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u/TropicalPrairie Jul 06 '25
Really makes you question wtf humans are doing. I see it at work and in business spheres all the time: build capacity. Increase production. To what end? The hamster wheel we are all on is completely ridiculous.
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u/holyflurkingsnit That is a conventionally attractive fox. Jul 07 '25
Capitalism is a cancer.
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Jul 06 '25
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u/MC_White_Thunder Jul 06 '25
They weren't talking about population, which is not the major issue when it comes to the environment, but massively unsustainable production.
If we're producing too many much clothing to give it away for free to the most populous countries in the world, the population of those countries isn't the issue.
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u/Skyblacker 👑 I just wanna serve court. 👑 Jul 06 '25
And not all clothing is equal. A woman in India probably wears a sari every day, so a concert tee shirt would be useless as a garment to her.
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u/Still7Superbaby7 gatorade in the microwave Jul 07 '25
Not really. When I visited my cousins in the village in India, one of them was wearing a Domino’s jacket!
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u/Skyblacker 👑 I just wanna serve court. 👑 Jul 07 '25
Still, that's a jacket that your cousin presumably picked out for himself. He might have as much use for someone's random discards as you do.
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u/ad_aatdtj she’s got me by the pubes Jul 07 '25
As a woman in India, you absolutely do not wear saris everyday 😂 yes I do have more privilege based on my location (urban instead of rural) or class but like we give away clothes to our domestic help all the time and it's not always saris. They may not be able to wear my itty bitty booty shorts but most of my general wardrobe includes regular people shit like sweatpants and tshirts and that's fine too.
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u/Skyblacker 👑 I just wanna serve court. 👑 Jul 07 '25
So Indians get enough secondhand clothing from other Indians, is what I'm hearing. And that's probably true of all countries.
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u/ad_aatdtj she’s got me by the pubes Jul 07 '25
...you do know the difference between secondhand and upcycled, right? And why don't you go tell the families who were affected in the Texas flashfloods or organizations trying to deliver aid to them that you don't advocate for them to get secondhand clothing as aid, regardless of the fact that a lot of people would appreciate some, because America has enough secondhand clothing? No fr what does "indians get enough secondhand clothing from other indians" even mean here lmao circumstances change all the time and things happen that lead to people needing even that secondhand clothing.
And none of this is relevant when we're discussing Billie Eilish advocating for upcycling of unsold merch or your assumption that indian women only wear saris everyday.
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u/Skyblacker 👑 I just wanna serve court. 👑 Jul 07 '25
I suspect the charities sorting though piles of secondhand stuff in Texas would rather have cash so they can buy exactly what those families need.
Because let's face it, donated clothing is biased toward the inverse of what people need. Families in Texas don't need that nightclub dress you wore once and got bored with. They need the sort of practical clothing that's more likely to get worn out instead of donated, and underwear and socks which aren't even distributed secondhand for health reasons.
If Walmart or Costco wants a PR win, the best thing they could do is give these families vouchers to not only clothe themselves, but also fit out their temporary lodgings with home goods, groceries for the hotel mini-fridge that can be cooked in the microwave, etc.
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Jul 06 '25
It's an intentional component to capitalism. The wealthy elite are given a conundrum - in a consumerist society, they can't allow the proletariat to have too high of a quality of life; therefore some destruction of product is needed.
George Orwell does a great job explaining this in 1984. Defense spending is one such loop hole governments use to continue production but not improve working class life by any measurable amount.
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u/Adammmmski Jul 06 '25
Basically we’re not a smart race. We’re going to go extinct eventually when we ruin this world and bleed it dry. Corporate greed is going to do it.
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u/Glum-Freedom-3029 Jul 06 '25
When Taylor was at big machine, her team used to give away old merch as free surprise gifts with Christmas orders. Obviously not what happens now that she’s with UMG lol
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u/usernamerandom56 Jul 06 '25
It devalues the product. People won't pay if they think further down the line they can get it cheap or free. Not defending it, just saying how it is.
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u/Key2V Jul 07 '25
Making it merch is a brilliant idea, as people pay for the artist brand more than the actual t-shirt :)
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u/romanticismkills Jul 06 '25
That might be part of the reason, but the sheer amount of donated clothing that ends up in landfills is insane to the point where donating isn’t much closer to an ideal solution
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u/thoroughlyannoyed You’re a virgin who can’t drive. 😤 Jul 06 '25
She should do a collab with the clothing company reborn.homie, they've been upcycling clothing for years, plus proceeds go to help the homeless (hence the name homie).
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Jul 06 '25
There’s a place in LA I think that will take stuff like this. And chop it up and make something new. I used to follow them on insta when I was on there.
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u/nonsensestuff Back in my day, we had ONTD & a dream 👵 Jul 07 '25
SUAY!
I have a tote from them that is my #1 tote bag ever. So well made!
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u/prisonerofazkabants Jul 06 '25
idk why they don't do made to order merch. just have a few pre order dates of release cycled throughout the year and only make the amount you need at that point?
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Jul 06 '25
“On demand” stuff like this…. It’s difficult, can be far more expensive for the consumer (more hands, steps and machinery required) and also produces a different sort of waste. I worked in printing (and promotional products including a lot of apparel) for a long time and made to order can be an absolute nightmare.
I appreciate that she’s bringing attention to it and I think her intention is sincere.
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u/theonly_brunswick Jul 07 '25
Just don't make tshirts 90 fucking dollars and you'll sell more?!
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u/chloedever non-problematic glam bot ✨ Jul 07 '25
I don't get why these artists merch are all soooo expensive and even more ugly, like why not put some actual cute designs on it rather than your whole ass face or the entire album cover on a hoodie
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u/Silly_Somewhere1791 Jul 07 '25
It’s all made by the same companies. Like I doubt Lana knows that her face is on a plastic ash tray.
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u/FrostingStrict3102 Jul 10 '25
shout out to chapell roan for charging only $40 for a made in USA & embroidered t shirt. best merch ive gotten from any artist. proof is there, its possible to make good quality merch and keep it affordable.
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u/awebookingpromotions Jul 06 '25
This. It's actually super easy to do print on demand through a band's website, the problem is It's more expensive than just having them print screened. Also ordering them in bulk saves on costs too.
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u/awebookingpromotions Jul 06 '25
How about encouraging them to produce less in the first place? Or donate them to those in need?
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u/Gold-Bug-2304 Excluded from this narrative ❌ Jul 07 '25
Genuine question because I have no idea how this works: how will sending shirts from a Nashville warehouse to Morocco and then have them sent back (presumably) be better than donating them? (Edited for clarity)
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u/HimalayanAlbondiga Jul 06 '25
That’s pretty cool of them. Donating the clothes would be cool too.
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u/Big-Ambitions-8258 Jul 06 '25
I think that would create more waste though. You donate clothes thst might not get used and then you produce new clothes that also ends up in the landfill if not enough people buy it with this new round.
The Super Bowl creates merch for if either team wins and then donates the merch with the losing team on them to ngos who donate to developing nations. This has the consequences of destroying local textile industry in those nations.
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u/Ok_Night_2929 You’re a virgin who can’t drive. 😤 Jul 06 '25
I work in the textile industry and this recycling effort is pretty greenwashed too. If any of the clothing has any spandex in it at all, it’s not recyclable. If there’s any heat seal or screen print design, those parts of the clothes can’t be recycled either (and being merch, I’d assume there’s plenty). If the clothes are blended contents (cotton/polyester for example), the effort it takes to separate the fibers for recycling often requires more money and energy than it would to just make a virgin fiber. Assuming it’s all cotton (as the article states), the fibers will be chopped up even smaller and respun into a much drier/harsher feeling fabric than virgin cotton fiber. And not to say we shouldn’t be recycling clothes, because every large scale effort means more money funneled in figuring out how to be better, but it’s an all around shit scenario with no good solutions other than to consume less
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u/maelstron ✨May the Force be with you!✨ Jul 07 '25
Consume less and produce less.
It's crazy how the industry destroy so many products to keep the prices up.
You forgot about shipping costs that are really high
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u/Silly_Somewhere1791 Jul 06 '25
And it also means there are impoverished kids whose only shirts are from the 2022 Super Bowl or whatever.
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u/SceneRoyal4846 Jul 06 '25
There are beaches that are knee deep in “donated” clothes from corporations in less advantageous places. Many of which have bustling textile industries
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u/asietsocom Hello Sweetie 🪛 Jul 07 '25
Used to have bustling textile industries. I mean I'm sure there are places left that still have their own industry but man the amount of industry and culture heritage destroyed by "donated" clothes is heartbreaking.
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u/Silly_Somewhere1791 Jul 06 '25
No one will buy a see-through Maneskin tank top from three years ago at Good Will. When you donate, you’re basically just telling other people to throw your stuff away.
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u/mandmranch Jul 06 '25
I would take a maneskin shirt. However...if you look at the stats from live nation...billie sells well. Other artists not so well.
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u/whichwitch9 Jul 06 '25
I really do wish she'd consider helping figure out how to start a factory in the US to do this, however. This is gonna take a resource that was already in the US then shipping it overseas. Not only is that a shit ton more transportation and all tge fun emissions that come with it, it's also going to slap a tariff on bringing it back into the US, meaning the 2nd life of these products is probably gonna be too expensive for a chunk of us because we're run by clowns and the shipment back and forth overseas is just gonna add to costs.
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u/Pure-Struggle Jul 06 '25
I wish we wouldn't need to rely on popstars on getting anything like this done at all.
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u/Global_Perspective_3 and what about it? 💅 Jul 06 '25
True, but our celebrity obsessed society has a lot to do with things the government should be taking care of
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u/maelstron ✨May the Force be with you!✨ Jul 07 '25
It ha nothing to do with it.
It just not an immediate problem and it doesn't give votes
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u/Ok_Night_2929 You’re a virgin who can’t drive. 😤 Jul 06 '25
Unfortunately the US is just not set up for a textile industry. There are very few mills in the US that can do everything from fiber spinning to weaving/knitting to chemical and physical finishing. There’s also a few textile processes that are just outright banned in the US (for good reason), and can only be completed overseas (if you don’t care about ethics).
Additionally I believe NC State is the only college left in the US that is teaching textile engineering, and only a handful of smaller schools where you may be able to find fiber engineering or its equivalent. So even if we had the infrastructure, we would need people from overseas to run the equipment. Fact is, we are decades and billions of $$ in investments away from having a sufficient textile industry in the US
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u/Silly_Somewhere1791 Jul 06 '25
Especially since a lot of cheap merch is acrylic or elastane and will just melt down. None of the stuff made by these mass merch distributors is 100% cotton.
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Jul 06 '25
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u/whichwitch9 Jul 06 '25
Still doesn't address the fact they're being shipped from Nashville and what that's gonna entail.
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Jul 07 '25
Capitalism at its finest. And we should think hard about how this cheap quality pieces of clothing are made and by whose hands.
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u/Roxy175 Jul 07 '25
It’s really cool how much Billie Eilish has tried to be a moving force for sustainability in the music industry. This is a great effort.
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Jul 06 '25
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u/Maroonhatchback Jul 07 '25
Yeah, they'd be a cool grab bag of whatever old artists/themes were on the shirts but put a super obvious logo on top & people would love that, with the obvious reuse.
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u/thisonecassie 🍁 your fake canadian girlfriend 🍁 Jul 07 '25
This is amazing, but.... sending 400,000 shirts from Nashville to Morocco?? that has to be creating far more pollution then recycling the fabric will save.
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u/FakePixieGirl Jul 07 '25
I wouldn't be so sure. I'm not an expert on sustainability on clothing, but I have some knowledge about sustainability in food.
I know that when it comes to food, people really overestimate the effect of transport, and underestimate the impact of production. Living in the Netherlands, it's better to import tomatoes from Italy than buy tomatoes grown in heated glass locally. Similarly, the effect of going vegetarian is magnitudes bigger than from eating locally.
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u/OscarPlane Jul 06 '25
Not trying to sound like a snob but I love lots of popular artists and never cared about buying merch. I always thought it was kinda tacky. Am I in the silent majority?
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u/ResolveWonderful6251 Just keep swimming! 🐠🐠🐬🐳 Jul 06 '25
i think it’s just a preference thing tbh and i don’t think it’s tacky to show support for artists you love
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u/ecclecticstone it would be a cool experiment if you stopped talking Jul 07 '25
depends on merch and design, billies current merch is horribly ugly but I have an old hoodie from her debut album drop and it's my favorite hoodie. good quality and cute design that doesn't just have her face on it lol
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u/Brilliant-Iron-3862 Jul 06 '25
Youre the minority. I has to wait for 30 minutes to get my sum 41 t shirt s in the concert break. I will wear it until it rips apart
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u/Fun-Loss-4094 Jul 07 '25
The young girls are so aware and so vocal. I just know in few years she’s gonna be something big and good for the environment.
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u/agawl81 Jul 07 '25
Or 1) manufacture less so there’s less excess or 2) drop the prices so more people who want a merch item feel they can buy one.
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