Young activists are trying to save the planet through TikTok
TikTok. Image: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP
If you’ve assumed that TikTok is only for sharing over-the-top dance challenges, you might want to give the platform a second look. The video-sharing service is now home to a growing community of eco-friendly creators, who aim to raise awareness on urgent environmental issues like global warming and the need for sustainable development among TikTok’s 800 million users.
A notable member of this new community is the TikToker Taylor Bright, whose videos on fast fashion’s impact on the environment have been watched by 133,900 people on the social network.
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“Denim is garbage. i’m going to start by saying we’re not going to stop wearing denim, I literally just have to point out some things. Denim is bad in all the ways, kind of like fast fashion,” she announces in one of her videos, which has garnered 18,000 views on TikTok.
Attracting a similar audience, influencer Shelbizleee raises topics like sustainability and recycling in humorous and informative videos. One of her tutorials on how to tie-dye clothes with avocado peel has been watched more than 440,000 times on the platform.
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TikTok has rapidly become a breeding ground for eco-friendly influencers, whose environmental challenges have attracted tens of thousands of users, who are mainly millennials or members of generation Z.
According to the communications agency Wallaroo MediaBorn, those born around the year 2000 or millennials account for a massive 60% of the 100 million TikTok users in the United States.
Raising awareness
Clearly issues like the environment and global warming are very important to TikTokers in this age group.
A recent Deloitte study has shown that most millennials and members of generation Z are keen to adopt eco-responsible reflexes in their daily lives, like recycling where possible, opting for public transport rather than driving and limiting their use of disposable plastic.
These eco-friendly practices are promoted on TikTok by the environmentalist collective EcoTok, whose 14 members aim to compete with content creators with millions of subscribers like Hype House while attempting to save the planet.
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Although it was only launched in July, the young collective has already amassed more than 57,000 subscribers on the video-sharing social network.
Convinced of the viral potential of green content, TikTok also contributed to the environmental wave on the platform in June of this year, when it launched the hashtag #EcoUnited to encourage users to embrace more eco-responsible lifestyles on the occasion of this year’s World Environment Day. NVG
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