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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:
"As soon as we became aware of the offensive T-shirt message, we initiated the process to remove this item from our stores and are internally reviewing how we inadvertently purchased the item. We would like to apologize to our customers for any concern this may have caused."
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:
"We sincerely apologize for any offense caused by this T-shirt. This item was released without going through proper protocols and is not related to anything other than surfing. We are pulling this item from retailers immediately."
It should be noted that TJ Maxx was not the only retailer selling this "hang loose"
Last updated: 19 March 2015