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Billie Eilish, the American singer and songwriter, recently called out other big artists who release multiple versions of their albums on different vinyls and opened up about her sustainability initiatives.
The 22-year-old spoke to Billboard on Thursday, March 28, 2024, about how she produces her vinyl. Her last album, Happier Than Ever, had packaging made with recycled vinyl and sugar cane shrink wrap. She criticized other singers who make variants of their albums, and talked about how it's very wasteful. Billie added,
"It is right in front of our faces and people are just getting away with it left and right, and I find it really frustrating as somebody who really goes out of my way to be sustainable and do the best that I can and try to involve everybody in my team in being sustainable. Some of the biggest artists in the world making f*cking 40 different vinyl packages that have a different unique thing just to get you to keep buying more."
Most vinyl releases by celebrities use single-use plastic shrink wrap that does not biodegrade and virgin vinyl, which is a plastic resin that is derived from fossil fuels.
Billie Eilish slams 'biggest artists' for 'wasteful' vinyl album variants
Billie Eilish had an interview with Billboard on Thursday where she spoke about the various practices for sustainability and album packaging methods. She opened up about how growing up, almost everything in her house was treated as reusable. The singer's family used "different types of beautiful fabrics and ribbons" instead of wrapping paper and "dish towels instead of paper napkins".
The 22-year-old then called out some of the "biggest artists" for producing multiple versions of their albums in different packaging and vinyl, saying the practice is environmentally harmful. Billie Eilish said,
"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… I can’t even express to you how wasteful it is."
Billie Eilish brought her mother Maggie Baird along for the interview. The pair emphasized the importance of sustainability. However, the singer did not name any particular artist while criticizing the industry. She added,
"It’s so wasteful, and it’s irritating to me that we’re still at a point where you care that much about your numbers and you care that much about making money — and it’s all your favorite artists doing that sh*t."
Billie Eilish and the interviewer also mentioned her achievements in her advocacy for the environment. The Bad Guy artist said she was particularly proud of using her influence to convince Oscar de la Renta to end their use of animal fur when they were designing her dress for the Met Gala.
The singer also helped launch and fund Reverb’s Music Decarbonization Project last year. The organization aims to eliminate carbon emissions created by the music industry.
Eilish's Happier Than Ever, The World Tour began on February 3, 2022, and ended on April 2, 2023. She served only plant-based meals to artists and crew during the shows. The singer also partially powered her headline set at Chicago’s Lollapalooza by setting up a temporary “solar farm” on the festival grounds.
