Has influencer gifting got out of control?

If you’ve been on #BeautyTok recently, you couldn’t have missed the stickered and stuffed Gisou fridge that had heaps of people wishing they were influencers. Negin Mirsalehi’s honey-infused hair and skincare brand took the gluttony of PR packages to stratospheric new heights when it sent beauty creators a mini fridge full of products. Imagine rows of hair and body oils, hair perfumes, serums, washes, balms and multiple lip tints in every shade, as well as chunky bottles of Mogu Mogu juice and a drawer of pink-hued fruits. As expected, the gimmick proved successful: #GisouMiniFridge has over 53 million views on TikTok with thousands of comments dubbing this the dream PR package.

Gisou is not the only brand going for a more is more approach. In April, Korean brand Gentle Monster sent influencers its latest sunglass collection accompanied by an XXL unicorn plushie. Meanwhile, Laneige promoted its new ‘bouncy and firm’ sleeping mask with an exercise ball sent in a Tiffany-style box wrapped in metres of lush, satin ribbon. The product in question seemed to make up less than five percent of the enormous gift box, but it was the gimmicky packaging that had people posting and reposting the PR present.

This excessive extravagance when it comes to brand gifting isn’t new. Google Trends shows that the term ‘unboxing’ began to surface on the internet as early as 2006, but superfluous PR mailers reached a fever pitch in the late 2010s. By this time, YouTubers and early bloggers had been filming unboxing videos for over a decade and as more brands opted into influencer marketing, they had to compete with each other to create the most eye-catching package. Think back to Kim Kardashian’s Kimoji Heart Fragrance, for example, which was delivered to celebrities, influencers and editors encased in a giant chocolate heart crafted by Fours Seasons’ Beverly Wilshire’s pastry chef, complete with a KKW branded hammer to shatter the chocolate.

Kardashian’s OTT campaign arrived as a clarion call for many in the beauty industry. It exposed the climate-damaging hamster wheel that brands were marathoning in an effort to stand out and get noticed. In response, big voices in beauty began speaking out including Kardashian hairstylist and Ouai founder Jen Atkin, Elle’s former beauty director and co-founder of Starface Julie Schott and YouTuber Samantha Ravndahl. A 2018 Fashionista survey of over 350 beauty insiders revealed that 81 per cent believed the packaging was excessive and needed to change. Meanwhile, Beach House PR launched a campaign called #ChangeTheBeautyGame announcing they would only use 100 per cent recycled materials for their influencer mailers.

This naming and shaming coaxed brands away from performative PR stunts for a hot minute but, six years later, we’re back in the same circus. So how did we get here again? “This shift is very closely tied to our present moment in culture. Things in the real world are depressing, climate change feels terrible, there are systemic issues that politicians are doing so little to address,” says beauty critic Jessica DeFino. “In response, fashion and beauty’s problematic argument is ‘let people enjoy things, let them have this much at least’. This line of reasoning helps them feel better about their choices.” 

@gentlemonster_official 🎁Jennie Unpacking upcoming Jentle Salon collection special package 🦄✨5.1#GENTLEMONSTER#JENTLESALON #GENTLEMONSTERXJENNIE ♬ 오리지널 사운드 - gentlemonster

These superfluous unboxing videos can be a way for viewers to vicariously enjoy a moment of luxury and excess, if just for a moment, at a time when most of us can’t afford to spend lavishly on beauty products. It’s also a way for brands to cut through the noise and be noticed when the digital landscape is more crowded than ever before. “Even though it’s wasteful, it is a great marketing strategy. These boxes have a wow factor to them and creators are more likely to create content around them because they grab more attention on social media,” explains creator turned beauty entrepreneur Lisa Nilsson. 

The difference in metrics for an over the top PR unboxing versus a plain one is glaring. Look at lifestyle creator Anna Astrup for comparison: the influencer’s Gisou fridge unboxing video has 2.5 million views and over 3,000 comments on TikTok. Another PR unboxing from a few weeks before, featuring heaps of simple cardboard boxes, only has 250,000 views and 170 comments. The virality and performance of the mini fridge garnered the creator ten times more engagement than a typical video and this appears to be the norm, not the exception.

But how far are we willing to go in the name of financial gain and frivolity? In the midst of a global climate crisis, the question remains: what happens to the excessive packaging, products and gifts once the 30-second TikToks are finished? Cosmetics are notoriously hard to recycle, so most of it will just be thrown away – product packaging makes up an estimated 45 percent of landfill waste. Donation is also an option, but often that’s just as bad. “Only 20 per cent of donated waste makes its way to a second-hand user, the rest is shipped to poorer sub-Saharan African and Asian countries, and incinerated or piled in landfills,” explains Ayesha Mehrotra, lead sustainability manager at Positive Planet. “The unicorn plushies and exercise balls in question are made of complex synthetics and plastic that cannot be easily recycled. But the worst of the lot is probably the sea of mini fridges owing to their high global warming potential.”

According to Mehrotra’s emission maths, Gisou would have to plant 97 trees to offset the carbon emissions from each mini fridge it sent out and this doesn’t begin to include the impact of the products inside or the transportation. Some creators are also alarmed by the continued waste of PR packages. Beauty influencer Francesca Murray wishes brands would let go of “surprises” and instead ask creators about their shade preference, offering refills as an alternative to sending multiple bottles of everything. Meanwhile, after receiving countless products and not knowing what to do with the packaging, Nilsson is determined to do things differently with her own brand. “I want to make sure that Nordh Skin sends lip balms in reusable bags that could easily double as coin purses or make-up pouches.”

The collateral and calamitous damage being caused to the environment from beauty packaging is irreversible. So how can we move past this trend of excess? “The obvious solution lies in shifting our values away from mass consumerism as a marker of success. On an individual level, the best way to do this is to not interact with this kind of excessive content. By not clicking, sharing and engaging with the post you’re impacting the very metrics that determine whether these stunts are successful for brands,” DeFino says. “But in all honesty, brands alone cannot fix this waste problem. It requires government regulation, supply chain management and a collective divestment from the beauty industry.”

Our culture has long sold overconsumption as unadulterated joy – from the concept of ”retail therapy” to the ”little treat” trend – but in reality, it’s a distraction technique that helps us look away when things get uncomfortable. The world is actually dying and dramatic PR boxes cannot continue to exist in an ignorant vacuum.