They find it berry inappropriate.
For leaving a bad taste in parents’ mouths — offering a sexually “suggestive” shirt to kids — fast-fashion retailer Zara has not only issued an apology but also removed the tart top from its racks.
“Personally, I’m disgusted,” Laura Wilson, 32, a TikTok tastemaker and mother of two from London, said of the $14 kiddie tee in a viral video.
The controversial white, crew-neck shirt featured black and red lettering that read “The Perfect Snack” across the left breast and “The Strawberry: A small burst of sweet joy” on the right, as seen in Wilson’s clip.
The back of the problematic piece — which Wilson found hanging in the “Girls” section of her local Zara — read “Take a bite. A burst of sweet delight, making it the perfect summer snack,” inked beneath a succulent sliced strawberry.
“It’s just plain wrong, and in plain sight,” an admittedly “shocked” Wilson told a crowd of more than 39,000 virtual viewers.
Zara subsequently offered an apology for the offending shirt.
“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,” the company said in a statement, according to The Independent.
“However, we now understand that some individuals have interpreted the term differently,” continued the brand. “Therefore, we have removed the T-shirt from stores and our website.
“And we apologize for any misunderstanding or offense caused.”
Representatives for Zara did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment. The Post has also contacted Wilson for further comment.
Wilson’s disapproval of the fruity finery was likely rooted in the Gen Z meaning of the word “snack” — slang that refers to a person’s physical attractiveness.
But the millennial mom’s worldwide whistleblowing drummed up both support and opposition from split audiences, which couldn’t decided if her outrage was justified or just an overreaction.
“I’m with you, it’s suggestive,” agreed an alarmed onlooker in the clip’s comments.
“It’s just a strawberry! Your mind is taking it to the gutter,” carped a critic, defending Zara against Wilson’s scathing critique.
But the trendy chain is no stranger to cyber fire.
In December, the international imprint, based in Spain, found itself engulfed in social media’s flames of fury after rolling out an ad campaign that featured images of mannequins wrapped in white sheets.
Fuming faultfinders argued that the visuals too closely resembled carnage in the Gaza Strip.
Zara immediately pulled the promotion.
And it’s far from the only fashion brand that’s been forced to issue an abject mea culpa for green-lighting condemnable content.
Balenciaga previously copped to making a “wrong choice” by spotlighting toddlers in bondage-style apparel for a highly-contested ad campaign in 2022.
“This was a wrong choice by Balenciaga, combined with our failure in assessing and validating images,” confessed the luxe label in a statement. “The responsibility for this lies with Balenciaga alone.”
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