Since early 2020, restock videos have gained a tight grip on numerous social media platforms, originally sprouting from TikTok. These videos commonly depict a person editing together short clips of restocking every item in their fridge, bathroom, kitchen and beauty drawers.
Similar to ASMR and unboxing videos, the organization and sounds in restock videos have accumulated widespread popularity. Viewers have found them “oddly satisfying” especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A typical video consists of a few things. Firstly, the person’s face usually isn’t seen in frame, but rather their just hands organizing objects. Second, there’s often a theme to the video, like monochromatic supplies or a certain area in the house like the fridge or laundry room. Third, the person usually buys in bulk or a large amount of miniature items. Lastly, the person unwraps the newly bought items and transfers them from their original containers into another, typically made of glass or plastic.
However, while the audience is distracted by the satisfying sounds and the commendable organization, they’re blind to the harmful environmental impact behind the camera. In reality, the state of our planet’s health is heartbreaking.
Every year, over four hundred million tons of plastic is produced, 50% of which is single-use only, used for just minutes and then thrown away. Furthermore, over 10 million tons of plastic is dumped into our oceans and less than 10% of all plastic waste is actually recycled. This pollution results in the death of over one million marine animals each year.
A major contributor to the harm of our environment are the practices promoted in restock videos. In reality, these videos encourage materialism and overconsumption to sell a false image of organization. As a result, more people are developing harmful habits that are contributing to the accumulation of plastic waste.
Every time miniature versions of an item are purchased for aesthetic reasons, household items are turned into a collection, rather than basic needs, and the single-use packaging actually gives less product for more trash.
Creators aren’t aware all the time that the practices of restock videos have harmful environmental effects. Sometimes, it’s unintentional. Usually they’re simply aiming to transfer items sold in larger packages to smaller containers that’ll fit better in their homes.
However, sometimes there’s product left over that was too much to fit in the smaller container. So where do they put the leftovers? If they throw away the extras, they decrease the optimization of their purchase. If they keep the original container and the aesthetic one, they now have two separate containers for the same product. Not only have they doubled the amount of space required to store everything, but they’ve also doubled the amount of waste when both containers eventually go bad.
In some cases, the second container fills up more space than the original packaging. If the result is less space, then the seemingly “necessary” organization in restock videos isn’t necessary at all.
Another major thing to consider about the downsides to restock videos is the quickly dying fad that certain trends follow. They’ll hit hard for a while until they shift with the evolution of popular culture. While in the current moment, creators are raving about the necessity of aesthetic jars, matching colors, and plastic containers, trends will change again and that kind of content will no longer be the ‘it’ reel.
Then all their current organizers and containers will be purged to make way for the next big craze and thus adding detrimental amounts of waste to the total global accumulation.
Most importantly, the excessive consumerism in restock videos can lead to food- safety risks, especially in the context of kitchen restocks. When creators buy in bulk of foods and beverages, they aim to fill up every inch of space in their pantries and fridges.
With so many goods packed in one area for the sake of visual effect, it can be difficult for people to actually acknowledge everything that they have. This can lead to food and beverages being forgotten and becoming expired. Since they aren’t useful anymore, they end up right in the garbage, not even getting the chance to be utilized.
Ultimately, it’s important to note that there is a certain level of organization that can be beneficial. Reusable containers can be great for being environmentally conscious and they can help make life more organized. However, when that level of organization becomes extreme in cases like restock videos, the harmful environmental impact outweighs the advantages.
