Fashion brand Urban Outfitters has halted the sales of their 'depression' shirt following an outcry, according to Business Insider.
The cropped t-shirt priced at $59 was printed with the word depression and the brand advertised it online as "super depressing". The shirt's message has sparked a firestorm on Twitter and Facebook over the last couple of days, saying, that this venture is vile, disgusting and disgraceful. Urban Outfitters responded by issuing an apology on Twitter and pulling the shirt from the store shelves. The company had also reduced the price of the shirt to $9.99 before it was finally removed from the website.
Urban claimed that the shirt was designed by a brand called Depression. Two years ago, the same fashion brand came under fire for selling a shirt that featured the phrase "Eat Less". Critics said the statement glorified anorexia. Just recently, they were also forced to pull out a pair of socks that offended Hindus.
Some Twitter followers of the brand posted their comments about Urban's allegedly insensitive business ploy, saying: "I dealt with depression and anorexia/bulimia for 5 years, this is so offensive." "Urban Outfitters have made a depression t-shirt. Well done, you've made it even harder for people genuinely suffering to be taken seriously." Someone tweeted: "When will Urban Outfitters stop making mental illnesses a fashion statement?"
"I was shocked that after one T-shirt people jumped to this conclusion," Kenny Lim, co-founder of Singaporean clothing line Depression said. "I got very depressed at work. The clothing line is a reminder that we can be happy every day when we go to work." Lim also said that the t-shirt was simply their logo printed on the shirt. "I just think we are being misunderstood. I just want the focus to be on the brand."
