The retail store Old Navy is under fire for releasing a shirt that’s downright offensive. The store recently released these girl’s T-shirts where they crossed out the word artist and replaced them with more "viable" careers such a president or astronaut.
The shirt is designed for toddler girls and people are outraged that Old Navy would put such a negative message on clothes for children. Social media posts popped up not too long after people caught wind of the T-shirt.
Old Navy released a comment to Buzzfeed saying:
“At Old Navy we take our responsibility to our customers seriously. We would never intentionally offend anyone, and we are sorry if that has been the case. Our toddler tees come in a variety of designs including tees that feature ballerinas, unicorns, trucks and dinosaurs and include phrases like, “Free Spirit.” They are meant to appeal to a wide range of aspirations. With this particular tee, as a result of customer feedback, we have decided to discontinue the design and will work to remove the item from our stores.”
– Debbie Felix, Old Navy spokesperson
I send my condolences to the artist, yes artist, who had to design this T-shirt. I don't know how they could put such an offensive saying on a children's shirt in good conscience. The T-shirt is terribly ironic for this very fact. All of the graphics on Old Navy's T-shirts were created by, yes, you guessed it, an artist.
The company also got itself into trouble when it charged more for women's plus size jeans. The company charged the same price for men's jeans of all sizes. Old Navy has since discontinued the shirt and replaced it with another that pays homage to grandmas, grandpas and parents.
from Booster.com.
So, Old Navy I think we all learned a lesson here: think before you release offensive T-shirts that are taking a dig at some people's actual careers. Kids should aspire to be whoever they want to be whether that be an astronaut, a president or an artist.
