Second supermarket chain pulls 'racist' T-shirt?

A second supermarket giant has reportedly ditched a line of Australia Day T-shirts with an identical slogan to the controversial garment that the discount chain Aldi pulled off its shelves on Wednesday.

Big W is understood to have confirmed to a media outlet that it has pulled two styles of shirts with the words "Australia Est. 1788".

Aldi on Wednesday faced outrage from a number of Twitter users over a range of promotional T-shirts and singlets with AUSTRALIA EST 1788 logos, and was forced to withdraw the garments.

Twitter users slammed the design as racist and culturally insensitive to indigenous Australians, who inhabited the continent for thousands of years before Europeans arrived. 

It is now being reported that the controversial T-shirts had been approved by the federal government.

Fairfax reports the seven designs had been approved by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in July last year, after “passing strict guidelines regarding products bearing the Australian flag”.

A department spokesman told Fairfax that staff had been concerned with the accurate representation of the flag, not external elements.

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The T-shirts and singlets were scheduled to go on sale on this week in the lead up to January 26, but were met with severe critcism online.

1788 T-shirt #auspol 1788 was invasion day. Australia has been "established" for over 60,000 years #wapol http://t.co/1yEFMOnFWg

— John Pratt (@Jackthelad1947) January 8, 2014

 

So, @ALDIAustralia thinks these shirts are worth selling, not even thinking about how racist and incorrect they are! pic.twitter.com/EE9yJNVRyX

— Blayke Tatafu (@BlaykeTatafu) January 8, 2014

The outrage forced Aldi to apologise on Twitter for "any offence taken" before announcing that it had "decided to remove one of its Australia Day special buy products, the Adults Australia Day T-shirt and Singlet from retail".

It maintained that complaints from "a limited number of concerned customers" prompted it to withdraw it from sale. The remainder of the range is still available for purchase in-store.

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Outcry aside, there were a few users who didn't agree the garment was offensive or racist. 

If #ALDI is #racist, then so is everyone who celebrates Australia Day. The shirt is simply a product of the holiday you all celebrate.

— qutmike (@qutmike) January 8, 2014

"@intagpaul: Overreaction @today 'Aldi' and 'Aust. est 1788' T's. Should we cancel Australia Day as well? #we'vegonesoft #freedomofspeach

— Marsh (@Marsh54) January 8, 2014