Anger as Zara withdraws striped kids t-shirt with yellow star
The international clothing company Zara has apologised after a receiving a barrage of anger over its sale of a striped children’s t-shirt with a yellow star on it.
The shirt, which was advertised on the brand’s French e-commerce site, has since been removed from sale.
The top’s marketing as a ‘sheriff’ outfit was not enough to convince dozens of social media users, who expressed outrage at its crass resemblance of a Jewish concentration camp uniform.
Zara has apologised by email to a Jewish News reader’s complaint, saying “The design of the T-shirt was only inspired by the sheriff’s stars from the Classic Western films.
“We would not want any of our products or designs to be perceived as disrespectful or offensive. Respect and dignity are amongst the principles that define and guide our corporate value; we vehemently reject any form of discrimination.”
This isn’t the first time the Spanish fashion brand has caused controversy.
In 2007, the company withdrew a handbag embroidered with four Swastika symbols after receiving a rush of complaints.
The retail giant commented, “We did not realise Swastikas appeared on some of these bags, the swastika was not on the bag which was sourced by us after being supplied by an external producer.”
A spokesman for the Board of Deputies said: “ We acknowledge that Zara have apologised but this error has caused enormous hurt in the Jewish community, and we urge Zara to take far greater care in monitoring what is put in its stores in future. We are happy to work with them to educate them about Jewish community sensibilities.”
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