Billie Eilish talks real reason for her eye-wateringly pricey tour merchandise

Daily Mirror

14-07-2025

She's not behind the door about a cause she feels passionate about - and a guiding theme in Billie Eilish's career has been climate change - and it features on her UK tour
Over the years, Billie Eilish has used her growing reach to speak out on issues she feels strongly about, with climate change and sustainability top of the list. 'She was basically the first major popstar to show us what Gen Z think, and how they see the world,' says Thomas Smith, editor of Billboard UK. 'She's come of age in an era when young people like Greta Thunberg are totally energised to try and do something about the environment. It's not a cynical marketing ploy either; Billie really wants to make a difference.'
With the state of the planet so worrying to her, the video to her 2019 song All The Good Girls Go To Hell saw her as a winged creature stuck in an oil spill, surrounded by raging fires. 'The deeper meaning of the song is about global warming and climate strike, and what's really important,' she said at the time. 'This song is about the world and trying to save it, and people not believing that it needs to be saved.'
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She was propelled into action after countless meetings with music execs highlighted a distinct lack of eco-awareness in the music industry. 'They'd be tripping and stumbling over their words because they're not doing anything,' she said last year. 'And it was kind of alarming to find that no one's really doing anything to better the world.'
Doing all she can to make a difference, Billie regularly works alongside REVERB, a non-profit that promotes greener practices in live music. As part of their collaboration, she used solar energy to partially power her headlining set at Chicago's Lollapalooza in 2023.
And during her current tour, there are dedicated 'Eco-Action Villages' offering water-filling stations to reduce plastic bottle wastage, while excess food is donated to local shelters.
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During the upcoming London leg, Billie will also host the latest in a succession of climate summits called Overheated, bringing together activists, musicians and thought leaders. 'She doesn't have to do it, but she does so because it matters to her, and she knows it matters to her fans,' adds Thomas.
In addition, Billie regularly partners with plant-based food organisation Support + Feed, which was founded by her mum Maggie in 2020. Both she and Billie are vegan, and the initiative aims to increase food security by encouraging large venues to make plant-based food more accessible and affordable.
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'Plant-based food can feed more people, because that's how the food chain works,' Maggie said. 'We're helping the local economy and the planet.' Echoing her mum's sentiments, Billie has said, 'It feels like there really has been change in the crowds, and lots of people taking the pledge and being open-minded to the idea of eating plant-based.'
Stressing how Maggie's passion inspires her every day, she added, 'She works so unbelievably hard. She is so selfless, and she cares so much about people and the world in a way that I don't think you could even believe is possible.'
Maggie first influenced Billie's environmental efforts as a child, and she once recalled, 'It was such a normal thing. My mom started making these bags in these different types of beautiful fabrics and ribbons, and that's how all of our presents were wrapped for Christmas and my birthday.'
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While growing up in LA, everything at home was treated as reusable, and the family converted the house to run on solar power and then removed the grass from their front garden to save water. 'Those were big moments for us,' Maggie said.
Meanwhile, the release of Billie's album Hit Me Hard And Soft last year was backed by a sustainability plan that saw environmentally-friendly packaging and vinyl copies pressed onto recycled materials. 'I can't just ignore what I know and go about my business and career and not do something,' Billie has said. 'That's just not how I was raised, or how I want to live my life.'
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Additionally, the merchandise sold on her website aims to reduce climate impacts. 'The problem is to make sure that my clothing is being made well and ethically, and with good materials, and is very sustainable, and that it feels good and is durable,' she has said. Although recognising that this makes it more expensive, she says, 'I'm trying to pick one of two evils.'
When she released her Apple TV+ documentary The World's A Little Blurry, its accompanying merch drop was largely created from organic fabrics and made on US soil. 'My hope is that by investing in more high-quality items, they will last for a much longer time, and we can all buy and consume less,' she said at the time.
'This is so important to me and I hope you love it as much as I do.' Billie is also committed to ethical beauty, and her range of fragrances are paraben-free, vegan-certified, cruelty-free and packaged with eco-friendly materials, which has earned her recognition from PETA.
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Her personal mission has impacted on big brands too, and in 2022 Billie partnered with Nike to redesign its Air Force 1 shoes using vegan and recycled materials. In October 2023, she appeared in a Gucci campaign which saw its classic 1955 Horsebit bag remade with a vegan alternative to leather called Demetra – a first for the brand.
Billie has often made a striking statement at glitzy showbiz events too, and at the Met Gala in 2021, she only agreed to wear a gown by Oscar de la Renta after the label agreed to stop using fur in future. 'That was one of the most powerful things she's ever done,' says Nina Nannar, arts editor of ITV News.
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'She obviously feels she has a bit of a responsibility, and uses her position in the public eye to try and slowly change the world. She's from a generation who'll march on the streets or say, 'We don't agree with this,' and in this case, it really worked.'
Speaking of the effect her Met Gala stance had, Billie said, 'So I got Oscar de la Renta to stop using fur completely, and that was a really, really big thing for me. I hope that more brands follow along with being environmentally conscious and try to help the world instead of making it worse.'
Billie has also campaigned for mental health initiatives, and having been open about regularly seeing a therapist to talk through her feelings, she has said, 'I genuinely believe that everyone, every human on earth, should go to therapy, whether you feel this or that about your life, if you're happy or anything.'
As Nina says, 'Many 16 or 17-year-olds are not necessarily going listen to their mum or dad's advice, but if it comes direct from Billie and she urges them to seek help, it makes it OK.'