It may have started as a platform for entertainment, but TikTok has quickly become a major force in online retail. Approximately $7 million worth of purchases are made on the platform's Shop every day, according to research by Capital One Shopping.
But for many users, the endless commercials and sponsored videos encouraging purchases have grown wearisome. This is the case for writer and comedian Meredith Lynch (@meredithmlynch), who recently posted a video calling out the excessive promotion of one particular sweater.
@meredithmlynch #greenscreen if youre doing it stop it @TikTok Shop 🇺🇸 #tiktok #weird #fastfashion #haul #sustainability #shein ♬ original sound - Meredith Lynch
"You have to stop pretending like this sweater is so effing great," she said, including a photo of what she was referencing. While she had seen countless videos lavishing praise upon the sweater — which she said were clearly to vie for commissions on affiliated purchases — she argued that the sweater itself was hardly anything to rave about.
"A 100% polyester, $13 sweater does not get better with time," Lynch said, "and it is honestly gross that you guys are promoting this like this."
Commenters were familiar with the scheme. "They all use the same lame lines to sell the same cheap junk," one person wrote. "And ppl keep buying it!"
Another opined, "There is nothing good on TikTok shop, trust me."
And beyond the frustration of feeling like she was being bombarded with advertisements, Lynch vented that these videos don't simply promote a sweater — they're promoting an entire lifestyle that's unhealthy for both wallets and the planet.
"It's fueling overconsumption. It's fueling fast fashion. It's fueling landfills," she said. "... I see these videos, and it's so cringe."
Commenters agreed wholeheartedly. "Literally two washes and it's ruined," one wrote. Another echoed the sentiment: "THANK YOU! I'm so tired of people shilling trash on this app!"
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What should the government do about the fast fashion industry?
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Set strict regulations 🚫 And it's more than just frustrating. Fast fashion, the industry that manufactures and sells cheaply made, low-cost clothing items, is extraordinarily pollutive. From generating 20% of the world's wastewater to clogging landfills with 92 million tons of textile waste per year, according to Earth.Org, it's suffocating the planet and creating health threats as it does.
Several commenters thanked Lynch for convincing them not to buy the sweater and other similar listings.
Instead, more and more shoppers are looking to buy less clothing in general and to focus on sourcing secondhand items when they do in order to avoid contributing their dollars to the pollutive fast fashion industry.
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