Urban Outfitters Under Fire For Selling Tapestry That Looks Like A Concentration Camp Uniform
Apparently, Urban Outfitters didn’t hear our suggestion that retailers should refrain from using symbols that relate to massacres, Nazis, the Holocaust or any other horrifying event when creating new products in 2015. The retailer has once again come under fire for selling an item that could be construed as deeply offensive.
Bloomberg Business reports that the retailer is currently selling a the gray- and white-striped tapestry with pink triangles that one group calls “eerily reminiscent” of uniforms gay male prisoners wore in Nazi concentration camps.
The Anti-Defamation League wrote a letter to the retailer on Monday expressing concerns about the company’s use of Holocaust imagery on products.
“Whether intentional or not, this gray and white stripped pattern and pink triangle combination is deeply offensive and should not be mainstreamed into popular culture,” Abraham Foxman, ADL National Director and Holocaust survivor, said in the statement. “We urge Urban Outfitters to immediately remove the product.”
While the tapestry isn’t available on the retailer’s website, Bloomberg says that a stop into a New York location found the tapestry for sale.
A spokesperson for Urban Outfitters did not respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment.
Urban Outfitters has faced its fair share of controversy in recent years.
Last year, the company attempted to sell a “Vintage Kent State Sweatshirt” that was a little too disturbing for consumers. The shirt appeared to be covered in blood spatter, but the company says it was natural discoloration. Still the shirt was removed, with UO apologizing for any offense.
Before that, in 2012, the retailer pulled a shirt that reminded people of the Holocaust. Jewish groups and other critics said the yellow t-shirt seemed to resemble a Star of David patch.
Other controversial products from Urban Outfitters have included prescription pill bottle shot glasses, sassy underage drinking tees, socks featuring a Hindu deity and hypodermic needle-like pens.
Of course, Urban Outfitters isn’t alone in its use Holocaust-related imagery in products.
Last August, clothing retailer Zara pulled a blue-and-white striped children’s pajama top with a yellow sheriff’s star after someone pointed out that the item of clothing looked remarkably similar to the uniforms the Nazi’s forced Jewish concentration camp prisoners to wear during the Holocaust.
Also last year, retailer H&M pulled and apologized for an offensive tank top featuring a menacing skull emblazoned over the Star of David.
Urban Outfitters Slammed for Tapestry Looking Like Holocaust Garb [Bloomberg]
Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.