Spanish retail giant Zara has recently come under fire after a children’s t-shirt sparked controversy for being deemed “sexually suggestive.” The backlash began when a London-based mother, Laura Wilson, posted a video criticizing the white crew-neck shirt that featured the phrases “The Perfect Snack” and “The Strawberry: A small burst of sweet joy.” The shirt also displayed images of a strawberry cut in half on the back with captions like “Take a bite. A burst of sweet delight, making it the perfect summer snack.”
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Wilson, who noticed the shirt in the girl’s section at Zara’s Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent, voiced her concerns online. “I’m so shocked. ‘Take a bite,’ is it just me? Or is this just not OK?” Wilson said in her video. She expressed discomfort with the shirt’s messaging, noting, “If you have bought this for your child, you need serious words with yourself.”
Initially, Wilson thought she might be overreacting, but she was reassured by others on TikTok who agreed with her sentiment. She argued, “Where it says, ‘the perfect snack,’ this is very suggestive. You say, ‘that’s a snack’ and that is quite suggestive of an attraction.”
In response to the uproar, Zara swiftly removed the shirt from its stores and online platform. The company issued an apology, stating, “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.”
Zara assured that they were taking the feedback seriously and would address any misunderstandings caused by the product.
