Forever 21 has drawn the ire of plus-sized customers after including Atkins diet bars in its online shopping orders.

Customers of the fast-fashion retailer recently found samples of the famed nutrition bars included with their merchandise in online orders. The Atkins diet, created by cardiologist Dr. Robert Atkins, is a low-carb diet and weight-loss plan, and the crispy, lemon-flavoured bars sent to customers are touted as low-calorie, high-protein snacks.

Forever 21 says it typically includes samples of products from third-party companies with which it is affiliated in online orders. Although the company says the diet bars were sent to all customers — not just those who are plus-sized — some did not respond well to the surprise.

Twitter users took to social media to condemn the company, calling the act a “trigger” for those who struggle with eating disorders.

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*ahem* Way to trigger people who are already dealing with an aggressively hostile fatphobic society and may or may not have eating disorders because of it, Forever 21. Forever 21 Is Sending Diet Bars with Plus-Size Orders https://t.co/nnHVy9maLC via @jezebel — Amy Zimmon (@AmyZimmon) July 24, 2019

Forever 21 may have not intended for this to happen but putting diet bars in a clothing order across the sizing spectrum is not only a huge slap in the face towards plus-size customers but also a severe trigger for those suffering/recovering from EDs — revolution in the institution (@femme_fiction) July 23, 2019

The plus-sized community says it is often disparaged and ignored by an industry that scarcely caters to its needs. The community has expressed grief over an inability to find adequate clothing from companies that market to petite women.

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In 2018, former reality TV actress Roxy Earle created a plus-size fashion line in collaboration with Le Chateau after she noticed what she believed was a lack of inclusivity in the fashion industry. According to Statista, in 2017 plus-sized fashion generated nearly $1.71 billion dollars in sales in Canada.

In a statement, Forever 21 apologized for the gaffe.

“From time to time, Forever 21 surprises our customers with free test products from third parties in their e-commerce orders. The freebie items in question were included in all online orders, across all sizes and categories, for a limited time and have since been removed,” the statement explained.

“This was an oversight on our part, and we sincerely apologize for any offence this may have caused to our customers, as this was not our intention in any way.”

Others suggest the situation has been blown out of proportion and is far from an act of fat-shaming, saying it was merely poor judgement on the part of Forever 21.

It’s a free sample that went out with all online orders. They’re snack bars that plenty of people on and off diets eat, and it’s very common for online retailers to include free samples of all kinds of stuff in shipped orders. If you don’t want it, throw it away. Problem solved! — jas (@justforgetabo) July 24, 2019

Some argue the bars were protein-based and not diet bars.

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That’s not a weight-loss bar or fad diet product… Those are protein bars… 🤦🏻‍♀️ They’re bomb btw and protein bars can be expensive! Just coming from a thick woman who likes to lift weights and still eat good 💁🏻‍♀️ — liz 🥧 (@lizobean) July 24, 2019