TikTok is famous for its lightning-fast fashion trends, but environmental engineer and sustainability advocate Berry (@theberrybestt) is using the platform to shed light on Cider, a fast fashion brand claiming to be a more sustainable option than typical clothing outlets.
@theberrybestt Replying to @meredithinge cider looks tempting but it's a no from me #sustainable #shopping #environmental #engineer #fastfashion ♬ Blue Blood - Heinz Kiessling
In her video, Berry uses the brand sustainability guide Good On You, which rates clothing companies on factors like environmental impact, labor conditions, and animal welfare. However, Good On You was unable to give a full analysis of Cider at the time of the video because of a lack of brand transparency.
Cider's sustainability page also suggested that the digitally native brand produces less waste than traditional retail companies, which Berry attests to be blatantly false after working with a secondhand company that receives a large amount of Cider's deadstock.
Deadstock clothing is garments that never make it to the stage of being purchased and worn by consumers but instead are thrown directly into landfills. Berry even mentions that entire warehouses full of Cider-branded clothing were going straight from production into the garbage.
Berry compares the quality of Cider's clothing to that of Shein, another fast fashion brand notorious for cheap, flimsy apparel made with questionable materials and unethical labor practices.
She also adds that Cider's "biodegradable" packaging must be industrially composted, a process that most consumers would not have easy access to, and that Cider's recycled collection is actually made with a minimal amount of truly recycled fabric.
"Cider looks tempting, but it's a no from me," Berry wrote in the TikTok's caption.
By foregoing fast fashion, we can all cut down on the textile waste that pollutes the environment and reduce the amount of precious resources and dirty energy used to make synthetic fibers.
Choosing to shop secondhand and supporting more eco-friendly brands are great ways to help create a cooler, cleaner planet.
Some commenters debated over the need for affordable, size-inclusive clothing offered by fast fashion retailers, while others brought up their own negative experiences with the Cider brand, from poor product quality to allegations of copying independent designers.
"It's just more fast fashion even though the website makes it look more expensive," one TikTok user pointed out.
"I'm glad I listened to my gut about Cider," another commenter noted. "They have some cute things but at what cost?"
"And, as always, they steal designs from small artists," a third wrote.
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