TJ Maxx Suicide Shirt

On 16 March 2015, Twitter user @PsychoGF posted a photograph of a t-shirt featuring an image of a noose along with the slogan "hang loose" that was being vended by American department store chain and major clothes retailer TJ Maxx:

The tweet about the shirt stirred outrage on social media and soon prompted a response from TJ Maxx. After receiving some information about where the shirt was being sold (the item pictured above was available at an outlet in Florida), the company issued a statement saying that the shirt was being pulled from all their locations:

The California beachwear company Tavik also apologized for the offensive design, claiming that the shirt's "hang loose" slogan was related to surfing but failing to explain how the noose was relevant to that carefree theme:

It should be noted that TJ Maxx was not the only retailer selling this "hang loose" t-shirt. The Washington Post reported that the item was described as "pleasantly provocative" on Backcountry.com.

Last updated:   19 March 2015