The Restock Trend: How Influencers Fuel the Aesthetic Buy-More Trap

We just discussed last week about the social media fuelled cycle of impulse buying. As a continuation of that, let’s talk about something that looks aesthetic on the surface but, underneath, is quietly normalising waste. You’ve definitely seen it - the restock and organising trends flooding your feed. The ASMR-style videos. The shower routines. The skincare rituals with a gazillion products. The fridge, the laundry, the pantry, the "travel essentials." Most of which, many times, you don’t need, and probably already have at home.

But the waste from all this? Just why?

The Fridge, the Laundry, the Kitchen: Restock

This mega trend involves purchasing items in bulk and organizing them aesthetically in homes, especially in kitchens, pantries, and laundry rooms. Influencers showcase neatly arranged shelves with uniform containers. Platforms like TikTok and YouTube have made this trend blow up, with creators constantly sharing their "organising routines."

While visually satisfying, many experts warn that overstocking leads to wasted space, overconsumption, and a huge rise in product waste.

Sometimes, these videos are titled "random restock" or "ASMR restock" but it’s often taking things out of usable packaging and transferring them into new containers, just to make them look 'good.' Instead of encouraging reuse of what you already have at home, they subtly push you toward buying more items. That “random restock” might’ve just created a whole pile of unnecessary waste.

Let’s not forget that 140 million tonnes of plastic are produced every year just for packaging. And a large chunk of that goes straight to landfills, often after only a single use.

The ASMR Snack Box Routine

It’s great to munch on some snacks. But does every store-bought snack really need a new container? A new tray? Half the time, these snacks already come in functional packaging. But that isn’t "aesthetic" enough for the video, is it?

The Organisation Trend

You’ve seen those glass jars, haven’t you? And no, they’re not encouraging reuse of old jars at home. Instead, influencers recommend that you buy new pretty-looking jars for every spice, every grain, every piece of cutlery, every food item. And of course, we're told to organise everything by colour. Aesthetics are important, remember?

The 'Essential' Organising Items

This one’s a biggie. The so-called essential items for travel, for the kitchen, for the bathroom, for makeup. Each comes with new containers, new pouches, new drawers, new systems. The cycle just goes on. There’s always a prettier, newer version of something you already own.

The Shower & Skincare Routines

You already know what works for you and what doesn’t. But hear us out - do you really need those 20-something items? Ask yourself if you truly need it? Or are you being persuaded to believe you do?

What you're not seeing behind the calming sounds and glass bottles is:

- Overproduction of plastic
- Duplicates of things we already own
- And a whole culture of "more" masked as minimalism

Just imagine how many containers, bottles, and half-used products end up in landfills simply because they weren’t even needed in the first place.

All these trends may look aesthetically pleasing and organized, but behind it all is a carefully curated narrative that influencers rarely challenge. They package overconsumption in beige tones, glass jars, and pastel palettes. The influencer economy thrives on subtle repetition; the more they show, the more you feel like you need.

If you’ve genuinely run out of supplies, that’s a different story. But before you buy another clear container or add that 6-step skincare product to your cart just because you saw it in a restock video, pause for a minute and check your space. You might already have everything you need.