German T-shirt site Spreadshirt has removed a few shirts from sale after social media users accused them of having racist slogans.
The site, which has been in operation since 2002, lets users design tees and sell them on their platform. But last week, users Quentin1984 and Monigote abused that privilege by creating shirts that read “Save a Dog, eat a Chinese” and “Save a Shark, eat a Chinese,” respectively.
Twitter user @YOMYOMF brought the two shirts to attention, prompting backlash online and calls for a boycott.
"Since when we need resort to #racism for animal protection?" asked one user.
The company removed the shirts earlier this week. However, Huffington Post points out that several similarly offensive shirts remain on the site.
Commenting on the outcry over the original shirts, a Spreadshirt spokesperson told the Global Times: "This is the designer's work which doesn't represent our company. This is simply humor, though it is in poor taste it is not linked to racism. Allowing the designer to release this T-shirt is free speech."
This isn't the first time a Western fashion retailer has come under fire for questionable apparel. Back in November, American company Nordstrom came under fire for selling a hoodie depicting the Nanjing Massacre.
The hoodie was eventually removed from sale.
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