Recently, these lip stains have been booming all over TikTok and more importantly concerns of the waste it creates has been heavily discussed. One tube of lipstick usually lasts a year, so even though it will eventually produce waste it is not as frequent as with this lip stain product.The lip stain is contained in a cotton bud, which is wrapped in plastic and stored in a paper case. This is a lot of waste produced for only one lipstick application, but influencers are still promoting this product on their large platforms causing it to go viral.
This is incredibly irresponsible especially with TikTok users being heavily influential in the current market. Most TikTok users are around 16-24 years old, meaning they will most likely feed into trends such as these viral lip stains and purchase irresponsibly. This is why when we see a popular influencer using a cool, unique sweater it often becomes a trend leading to overconsumption by their young impressionable audience.
If you view the videos promoting these lip stains you will notice most of the influencers are liking comments that express concerns over the plastic waste produced by the product and agreeing that it is unnecessarily wasteful, yet they still keep their videos up. Or when influencers suddenly promote eco-friendly products but live a lifestyle that does not promote their ‘green’ image. This is undeniably hypocritical and a clear display of performative activism. Influencers need to stop acting like they care about the environment and start doing something to save it with the platforms we have given to them.
Bibliography
TikTok Statistics – Updated June 2021. (2021, June 14). WALLAROO. https://wallaroomedia.com/blog/social-media/tiktok-statistics/
Comments