Foschini remove ‘sexist’ T-shirts

Feminists, HIV activists and a Christian group have slammed t-shirts sold in The Foschini Group's Markham and Sportscene stores which they claim support the abuse of women and promote unsafe sex.

Feminists, HIV activists and a Christian group have slammed t-shirts sold in The Foschini Group's Markham and Sportscene stores which they claim support the abuse of women and promote unsafe sex.

Published Oct 26, 2011

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Aziz Hartley

THE Foschini group has withdrawn three T-shirts with the words “stud”, “single” or “how to get laid” because they are deemed sexist.

They were meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but had caused offence to some customers, communications manager Kathryn Sakalis said.

“We’ve got hundreds of Ts with different slogans. Those withdrawn are three we felt crossed the line between humorous and offensive,” she said.

Markhams and Sports Scene are stores where the T-shirts were sold. Sakalis did not know how many had been manufactured, but said the withdrawal was immediate.

The withdrawal followed complaints from customers who thought the wording offensive to women. Sakalis said there had been numerous tweets and blogs.

“We have heard what the community said and will not hesitate to act immediately and take quick action,” she said.

In a message posted on the Hayes Happenings website, Taryn Hayes thanked TFG for its decision.

“It would have been easy for the group to choose to ignore the moral high ground,” Hayes said.

“Instead you have chosen to respect the public, your customers and the country by choosing to take a financial hit in removing these T-shirts.”

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