Many loyal K-pop fans are buying albums in bulk to boost their idols’ sales records, but they should think twice before doing so for the sake of the environment, urged Kpop4Planet, a digital climate initiative led by a global community of K-pop fans who are concerned about the climate crisis.

The group, which launched the “No K-pop on a Dead Planet” campaign, wants entertainment companies to adopt more sustainable practices, such as offering the “green album option”.

Campaigner Park Jin-hui told The Korea Times on Sunday that entertainment companies have long taken advantage of fan loyalty to maximise profits by encouraging fans to buy dozens to hundreds of their idols’ albums upon release. The companies also incentivise fans to collect their idols’ plastic photo cards as a way to boost their chances of winning tickets to fan events.

Ms Park said such marketing tactics have fuelled the rapid rise in plastic waste. In the course of its campaign, Kpop4Planet has collected thousands of physical albums that were discarded after fans bought them in bulk.  

She said companies should instead allow fans to pay for as many albums as they wish, while receiving just a few physical albums.

According to documents obtained from the Ministry of Environment by South Korean politician Woo Won-shik, K-pop entertainment companies used about 801.5 tonnes of plastic in 2022 to make physical albums, a jump of nearly 14 times from about 55.8 tonnes in 2017.

The actual amount of plastic used to produce these albums is likely to be higher than the ministry’s figure, considering the sales volume.

K-pop powerhouse Hybe, which manages popular groups including BTS, Seventeen and NewJeans, said in its sustainability management report in September that it used about 894.6 tonnes of plastic to produce its album packaging in 2022.

Mr Woo said: “Considering the global popularity of K-pop, entertainment companies should enhance their ESG (environmental, social and governance) management standards and the Environment Ministry should come up with countermeasures.”

The opposition lawmaker said the government, which does not regulate plastic waste produced by entertainment companies, should consider requiring these firms to publish notices on albums to inform fans of the right disposal methods.

The government should also establish cost-sharing measures for waste management, he added.