Clothes giant Zara has pulled a 'vile' children's t-shirt from sale after a mum slammed it for being sexually suggestive. But some claim she's completely 'overthinking' a simple picture of a strawberry.
Laura Wilson spotted the £10.99 t-shirt that features the fruit alongside the phrase 'the perfect snack' while browsing the children's section in store at Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent on Saturday, August 10th. And when the mum-of-two didn't believe the design could get any worse, she turned the garment around to see the words 'take a bite' printed on the back.
The 32-year-old claims the word 'snack' is often used to describe someone who 'looks good' or you find attractive and said it made her feel uncomfortable seeing this on a kid's t-shirt. She claims the phrasing on the garment was 'inappropriate' for children due to it's colloquial meaning and even her partner, who she was shopping with, agreed.
The full-time content creator said she would never let her two children wear the item of clothing and would be concerned if other parents did let their youngsters sport the top. After sharing a video about the item of clothing on TikTok, users were quick to debate whether the top was deemed 'suggestive' or not.
Zara claimed they had 'no intention' of implying anything with the words used on the strawberry t-shirt design but apologised for any 'offence caused' and say they have now removed the item from their stores and website. Laura, from Bromley in South East London, said: "I went in for a browse and saw this t-shirt and all I saw was 'the perfect snack'. I was instantly taken back by that.
"I read the other side and thought okay. I didn't think it could get any worse but when I turned it round, it said 'take a bite'. I would never have my children in something like that. I thought it was suggestive.
"I turned round to my partner and asked him if I was reading this right and he agreed that it was awful. I did think that is this because I'm an overprotective parent or is it just plain wrong.
"I put the TikTok up to get other people's opinion on it and it's very clear that other people have thought the same as me in these circumstances. It's very suggestive. This t-shirt was for a six to seven-year-old and I don't think this is okay.
"Where it says, 'the perfect snack', this is very suggestive. You say, 'that's a snack' and that is quite suggestive of an attraction. That's how I took it anyway.
"There are some people just saying that it is just strawberries and just talking about strawberries but the language on the top, I would never have my daughter walking around with 'take a bite' on the back of her t-shirt. The majority are in full agreement that it [the t-shirt] is very suggestive, vile and grim and not appropriate for a child.
"I didn't reach out to Zara as I thought for a second I might be overthinking it and being an overprotective person and maybe I'm too overprotective but I've seen things online on t-shirts before and not seen the problem. I'm not usually sensitive to things like this but this one made me feel really uncomfortable.
"If other parents were buying this for their children, I'd be quite concerned. It just makes me feel really, really uncomfortable."
Laura said at first, she did wonder if she was being an 'overprotective' parent but after sharing a video of the design on TikTok, many other users were quick to deem the t-shirt 'vile'. Her video has now been viewed more than 22,000 times and received more than 140 comments and, while some users agreed with Laura about the 'inappropriate' language, others said it was an overreaction.
One user said: "Absolutely not [overthinking it]! How that has got through product development is beyond me!"
Another added: "I am shaken to my core. Zara do better, this is vile." A third said: "I don't understand what is wrong?"
Laura replied to this: "Are you a parent of little girls? I've never let my children walk around with 'the perfect snack' and 'take a bite' on their t-shirt."
A fourth commented: "It's literally just a strawberry." Laura replied: "'The perfect snack' and 'take a bite'...is not just a strawberry. It's extremely suggestive for a child to wear."
Laura said this was the first time she had ever shopped in Zara and after this incident will not be returning to the store. A Zara spokesperson said: "There was no intention for the use of the word 'snack' on this t-shirt to imply anything other than the traditional meaning of the word, as evidenced by the image of a strawberry on the garment.
"However, we now understand that some individuals have interpreted the term differently. Therefore, we have removed the t-shirt from stores and our website and we apologise for any misunderstanding or offence caused."
