One of the best parts of going to concerts, in my opinion, is leaving the venue with newly purchased concert merch over the outfit I carefully picked out for the concert. It is one of life’s simplest pleasures. However thrilling it is, the cost of the merch is always a tough pill to swallow — even though clearly, I do it happily.
Chappell Roan, who has become a seemingly overnight pop sensation, was recently under fire for the price of the merch she was selling at her concerts. Roan’s merch stand featured a $40 T-shirt for her top-charting album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.” Alongside the merch stand was a sign explaining the good reason behind the price tag on the clothing.
The sign states that Roan’s T-shirts were made from “Everybody, World” T-shirts, a company dedicated to sustainability in apparel. In collaboration with “Everybody, World,” the shirts at Roan’s merch stands are made out of 100% recycled cotton and other materials, locally made in Los Angeles and have a very limited carbon footprint. Still, Roan has received backlash for the $40 cost of her merch.
In response to the criticisms being thrown at Roan for her merch prices, the topic of fast fashion has once again resurfaced. Many people are pointing out that people have gotten way too comfortable with the prices of clothing on fast fashion websites, and have completely lost sight of the difference between fast fashion and ethically sourced clothing.
One commenter pointed out the hypocrisy in the outrage over Roan’s merch prices, taking to X stating, “Cheap shirts come at a high cost— just not to you.”
Whether the people attacking Roan can admit it or not, our climate is in crisis
There is a hidden cost in the low prices we have become so accustomed to — the degradation of our environment. Fast fashion is culpable for 10% of global carbon emissions, the equivalent of that of the entire European Union. Simply put, the low price of a shirt you are only going to wear twice is not worth the havoc it wreaks on the environment.
Sending backlash Roan’s way on this subject is entirely misplaced. What she is doing by ethically sourcing her merchandise, which she knows thousands upon thousands of people are going to buy, is inherently a good thing. In fact, I encourage more artists to do the same. Gone are the days when we can be careless about where we buy our clothes from. Our future livelihoods depend on everybody making more sustainable choices wherever possible. Artists with dedicated fan bases like Roan’s should be encouraging sustainable fashion for their merchandise, knowing that people will buy it regardless of how much it costs.
To me, it seems that the hate Roan is getting from her merch prices does not actually come from people being appalled at a $40 T-shirt. It feels like another convenient thing to pile on the list of things people hate on her for.
I would be willing to bet that almost everyone who came after Roan for her merch prices has purchased a T-shirt at a concert for $40 or even more — I know I have and certainly will again. It’s not that they are actually upset at the price, they just don’t like her and are using this as yet another thing to add to their list of reasons why.
I am not denying that pricing at concerts for the artist’s merch can be outrageous. I strongly believe that under very few circumstances should a hoodie with a screen-printed design on the back be $100, but when it comes to Chappell Roan’s $40 T-shirt, there are bigger conversations at play.
Whether the people attacking Roan can admit it or not, our climate is in crisis. Paying $40 for a T-shirt really should be the least of our worries. Sustainable choices should be celebrated, not condemned.
mkane10@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @ChappellRoan, X
