Urban Outfitters Apologizes For Blood-Stained Kent State Sweatshirt
MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Urban Outfitters has found themselves caught in another clothing controversy in the form of a "vintage" Kent State sweatshirt.
The clothing company is on the receiving end of negative backlash after it released a faux-vintage Kent State sweatshirt which appeared to be splattered in blood.
Many believe the shirt references the May 4, 1970 shootings on the school's campus, in which four unarmed students protesting the Vietnam War were killed by the Ohio National Guard.
Nine others were injured.
Many took offense to the $129 sweatshirt and expressed their disgust for the retailer on Twitter.
Miles Vine @lvl1trans tweeted "Wow, you mean I only have to spend 129 dollars to be an insensitive jerk? Thank you Urban Outfitters."
Bailey @theauthor tweeted: "I'm not linking to a picture of @urbanoutfitters latest atrocity, but wow. mocking the Kent State massacre? How low can you sink?"
But this isn't the first time Urban Outfitters is in trouble for promoting controversial products.
Jewish groups weren't happy about a t-shirt the company produced in April 2012 with a six-pointed star badge that, to some looks like the Star of David patch which Jews were forced to wear in Nazi Germany during the Holocaust.
The company also got into trouble for selling pro-booze shirts to kids with the words, "I vote for vodka" and "I drink you're cute" printed on them.
Monday Kent State released this statement regarding the sweatshirt:
May 4, 1970, was a watershed moment for the country and especially the Kent State family. We lost four students that day while nine others were wounded and countless others were changed forever.
We take great offense to a company using our pain for their publicity and profit. This item is beyond poor taste and trivializes a loss of life that still hurts the Kent State community today.
We invite the leaders of this company as well as anyone who invested in this item to tour our May 4 Visitors Center, which opened two years ago, to gain perspective on what happened 44 years ago and apply its meaning to the future.
Urban Outfitters has apologized, and says the sweatshirt was not meant to evoke memories of the shooting. The retailer released the following statement on the matter:
"Urban Outfitters sincerely apologizes for any offense our Vintage Kent State Sweatshirt may have caused. It was never our intention to allude to the tragic events that took place at Kent State in 1970 and we are extremely saddened that this item was perceived as such. The one-of-a-kind item was purchased as part of our sun-faded vintage collection. There is no blood on this shirt nor has this item been altered in any way. The red stains are discoloration from the original shade of the shirt and the holes are from natural wear and fray. Again, we deeply regret that this item was perceived negatively and we have removed it immediately from our website to avoid further upset."
The item no longer appears on the company's website, but is selling on eBay with prices starting at $550.
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