Menu Menu
[gtranslate]

The fashion and beauty brands supporting Australian wildlife relief

As wildfires continue to devastate Australia in an environmental catastrophe that has already killed over one billion animals, the fashion and beauty industry is sounding the alarm.

As of yesterday, a horrifying 25 million acres of land have been lost to the wildfires that continue to tear through Australia at an unprecedented rate. If you’re wondering, that’s an area larger than South Korea, and the situation is currently so dire that smoke can be seen from space.

It’s the worst ecological crisis in the country’s modern history and a terrifying insight into how climate change will impact our planet in years to come if we don’t strive to make drastic changes. However, on a slightly more positive note, there’s been a huge international outpouring of financial support since the fires began, with celebrities and viral fundraiser campaigns coming together to do what they can to help.

Various fashion and beauty brands are also publicly committing to the cause, such as luxury conglomerate Kering (Gucci, Saint Laurent, and Alexander McQueen etc.) which just donated AUD $1 million to local organisations and their relief efforts.

Kering also promised to introduce initiatives (though they haven’t specified what yet) to tackle the disaster and stated that it’ll be participating in future reforestation and biodiversity programmes as part of the sustainability-focused Fashion Pact it signed in 2019.

One of the main houses of the Kering group showing its support is Balenciaga. Following reports that 30% of koalas may have been killed in several regions of Australia so far, the French label has unveiled a capsule collection to raise money for those fighting the crisis.

The collection includes just two items: a unisex t-shirt and hoodie featuring a beautiful printed illustration of the now highly vulnerable species, available online only. Amazingly, ‘100% of the proceeds from the sales of these charitable pieces will be donated to the most appropriate local conservation organisation selected by Kering Group sustainability experts,’ said Balenciaga on Instagram.

While Kering was the first fashion company to participate, it’s not the only one. PVH (which owns Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein) has donated AUD $100,000 to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund, and all its stores around Australia are accepting donations that’ll go towards the NGO.

And less well-known names in fashion and beauty are offering a helping hand too. Dozens of smaller, independent brands – primarily from Australia – have taken to Instagram asking for support, demonstrating just how important social media can be in these situations.

From jewellery and makeup, to shoes and skincare, the profits of whatever you choose to buy from Frank Body, With Jéan and Posse (to name a few of those involved) will be donated immediately, and it’s been incredibly effective so far.

We quite clearly don’t all have the time or money to go over to Australia and pick up a hose right this second, but if the most realistic and effective thing we can do right now is to donate, we should give as much as we can. So, instead of succumbing to the temptation of splashing our post-Christmas cash on the January sales this year, why not spend more consciously by contributing to support initiatives like those at Balenciaga? Seriously, every little helps.

Accessibility