Urban Outfitters is under fire once again for selling an item with a symbol some find offensive.
The latest controversy is a tapestry with black and white stripes overlaid with an occasional small pink triangle. That, critics say, is too close to clothing gay prisoners were forced to wear in Nazi concentration camps.
“Whether intentional or not, this gray and white striped pattern and pink triangle combination is deeply offensive and should not be mainstreamed into popular culture,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. “We urge Urban Outfitters to immediately remove the product eerily reminiscent of clothing forced upon the victims of the Holocaust from their stores and online.”
Customers online reacted with disgust and dismay.
In 2014, the retailer apologized for selling a Kent State University sweatshirt decorated with pink splotches. Critics charged it was reminiscent of the 1970 confrontation on the campus between the National Guard and protesters that left four students dead.
Two years earlier, the retailer was also criticized by the ADL for having a picture of a T-shirt in its online store with a star-shaped geometric design on the left breast pocket. The shirt's designer said the version of the item pictured was caught in pre-production and was never actually sold.
Urban Outfitters could not be immediately reached for comment.