An Australian influencer is in hot water for selling tie-dyed T-shirts her five-year-old son made for more than AU$50 (NZ$54).
Ruby Tuesday Matthews has over 200,000 followers on Instagram, who follow her journey as a mum-of-three living in Byron Bay, New South Wales (NSW).
But Matthews has sparked controversy online after attempting to sell her fans T-shirts tie-dyed by her middle child, Mars, for upwards of AU$50.
In Instagram Stories seen by news.com.au, Matthews said Mars has "a few shirts and singlets that we are going to sell".
"One-hundred [percent] of the profits go into his piggy bank as he does not have a bank account yet," she added.
She joked Mars owed her money for the tie-dye and T-shirts, quipping, "I'll let that slide."
But her son's new small business venture caught the eye of Instagram account and self-proclaimed influencer watchdog @dutchminty, which asked its followers to weigh in.
"What do you think of @rubytuesdaymatthews selling tie dyed tshirts for $50AUD+ ($54NZD) made by her 5 year old [sic]?" the account asked.
A flurry of responses flooded in, many of which were quick to hit back at the prices Matthews had set.
"People are literally struggling to pay for groceries, $50AUD ($54NZD) is a joke," one person said.
"What the, when you think it can't get any worse IT DOES," another added.
News.com.au reports that some accused Matthews of taking advantage of her fan-base by selling the T-shirts, believed to be from Kmart, at a higher price.
It reports others suggested a five-year-old's piggy bank should be topped up from the pockets of their parents, not by people on the internet.
"Yeah, bc (because) we're going to buy shirts to fund a kid's piggy bank, surely gotta be taking the p***. The physical cringe reaction to this," said one angry user.
"What's happened to a good ol' fashioned lemonade stand?" asked another.
But among the angry, some backed Matthews' move, saying it was an important lesson to teach children.
"I'm all for teaching kids to make money and save. I believe it needs to be taught from a young age. Makes them appreciate things a lot better. Money doesn't grow on trees," one person said.
"Cute concept, wild price," said another.
"If her fans want to pay for something her kid did let them! She's laughing all the way to the bank."
