Urban Outfitters has pulled a women's t-shirt with the word "depression" written all over after it triggered backlash by their customers on social media.
According to ABC News, the shirt was made by a small Singaporean clothing line named "Depression" Kenny Lim, the 37-year-old co-founder of Depression, told ABC News he was shocked t-shirt that sold out in Singapore led to backlash on the Twitter.
Lim and his business partner Andrew Loh created "Depression" after leaving their "unhappy" jobs in advertising to pursue their own clothing line venture in 2006.
"I got very depressed at work," Lim told ABC. "The clothing line is a reminder that we can be happy every day when we go to work."
"I just think we are being misunderstood," Lim said. "I just want the focus to be on the brand."
i dealt with depression and anorexia/bulimia for 5 years, this is so offensive #DepressionIsntAFashionStatement pic.twitter.com/3saxrMkD3S
— lottie 225 DAYS (@juiceboxdan) January 5, 2014
In utter shock over the 'depression' and 'eat less' t-shirts Urban Outfitters have.. #DepressionIsntAFashionStatement — shan. (@shantwid) January 5, 2014
shame that you're marketing a mental illness that 300+ million people deal with on a graphic tee for profit #DepressionIsntAFashionStatement
— ❁ kelly ❁ (@kmvogt9) January 5, 2014
Hey everyone, we hear you and we are taking the shirt down from the site. — Urban Outfitters (@UrbanOutfitters) January 5, 2014
Lim told ABC his company would not be making the t-shirts anymore. Urban Outfitters took to their Twitter account to acknowledge their customer's outrage and announced they would be taking the shirt off their website.
It is the second time Urban Outfitters has landed themselves in hot water, after a woman's v-neck t-shirt with the words "Eat Less" sparked similar outrage. However, they are not the only clothing brand in which a t-shirt has stirred up controversy.
In October 2013, American Apparel solid "Period Power" t-shirts depicting an artist rendition of the female vulva while menstruating. Check of the description of the shirt below, courtesy of BuzzFeed:
"The Ardorous is an all-female online art platform curated by Petra Collins, a Toronto-born artist. Petra began her infatuation with photography at age 15 and became an American Apparel retail employee around the same time. She creates portraits exploring female sexuality and teen girl culture. Now 20, Petra has worked with Vice, Vogue Italia, Purple, Rookie, and is a contributing photographer for American Apparel."
Click here to view images of the "Period Power" shirt.
