Millennials have long been a target of TikTok ridicule by the younger generations, and now they're catching heat for a surprising new offense: loving the color green. Dubbed "millennial green," muted shades like sage and forest green are being compared to the infamous "sad beige" aesthetic by Gen Z, who labeled the color another vehicle for millennial cringe culture. But outnumbering the critics, many millennials—and even some Gen Zers—are rallying around the calming and inspiring hue.
What is millennial green?
Millennial green had been described as a sage or forest green, a subdued tone belonging to the family of neutral, earth-toned colors. According to a TikTok video by user @captainlilo, millennials loving green was both an aesthetic and a financial decision.
"We all moved into places that had ugly, grey laminate flooring and we can't afford to re-do the floors, but we're bringing in all our warm-toned furniture." She said. "And you know what a good, easy, transitional color to marry those two is? Sage green."
The comments in @Captainlil's video by millennials showed genuine love for the color, believing it to have a calming effect, suggestive of greenery and nature. "We want to return to the forests," read one comment. "It's a calm color. We crave calm," read another.
Why green became the new beige
The discussion of millennial green as a favored color of millennials began post-pandemic, around the same time TikTok was discussing "millennial beige" and "sad beige" and other neutral, muted, and earth-toned colors associated with a cringy and unoriginal millennial aesthetic.
Some outlets theorized that the popularity of these colors was a reaction to the isolating and indoor nature of the pandemic. These organic colors were an aesthetic reaction to quarantine, integrating natural hues into domestic spaces.
According to Veranda.com, "during the height of the pandemic, countless color institutions and design firms crowned muted shades like sage and forest green as the 'it' colors. These hues brought a much-needed calming and serene quality to our lives during an uncertain time—and, to no surprise, green flooded our homes."
The trend became even more popular in April 2025, when it drew criticism from Gen Z as being another millennial cringe color, lacking originality or a clear decorative point of view.
The generational color debate
While the color had its critics, many more Gen Zers and millennials seemed to appreciate the color than the opposite. "There's no shame in using millennial green," creator @liam.alex.homereno said in a video about the hue. "It's basically a rite of passage, it just goes with everything."
Other comments about millennial green showed unabashed love for the color, no matter if it felt like a trend or not. "I won’t take any green slander," one comment read. "The sage is timeless, I'll die on that hill," read another. "My whole house would be green if I could," a third comment professed.
Millennials then began making videos showcasing their sense of humor about liking millennial green, despite the online perception that it may have made them "uncool."
They also poked fun at their perceived Gen Z critics in the comments of these videos. "Millennial green is immaculate. Gen Z just running out of reasons to hate on Millennials," read one comment. "We have to stop caring what 22-year-olds on TikTok think," read another. "It’s okay babe, Gen Z were putting foam on their mirrors and thought it looked good," a third comment read.
Whatever side you fall on regarding the millennial green question, the color appears to have struck a chord intergenerational.
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