Sainsbury’s has apologised after removing a pair of trousers from its online store that was advertised using a ‘racial slur’.
The company – which owns the clothing brand, TU – was criticised for listing a pair of school trousers as having a ‘knee grow’ hem, a phrase which is allegedly used as a disguise for a racial slur.
The two pairs of trousers in question are advertised as ‘Grey Skinny Reinforced Knee Grow Hem Trousers 2 Pack’ and ‘Reinforced Knee Grow Hem Woven Trousers 2 Pack’.
Other school trousers by TU, had various other titles, including ‘Skinny Fit Grow Hem’, ‘Longer Leg Grow Hem’ and ‘Generous Fit Woven Grow Hem’.
The company said it was ‘urgently updating’ the product labelling after being notified of the issue, adding ‘we’re truly sorry for the upset this has caused’.
Sainsbury’s has apologised after removing this pair of trousers from its online store that was advertised using an alleged racial slur
The company was made aware of the issue after a concerned customer took to X claiming the term ‘knee grow’ is allegedly used as a disguise for a racial slur
The company has begun ‘urgently updating’ the product labelling after being notified of the issue (Stock image)
Sharing a picture of the trousers on X, and tagging Sainsbury’s, one person wrote: ‘Are you aware that the item name below is freely used by racists to bypass n-word filters?
‘May I suggest renaming the item. Also maybe a few Black faces in the decision-making process, to avoid this in the future.’ [sic]
The Tweet was viewed 230,000 times.
One viewer commented: ‘Omg that’s terrible. Who the hell came up with that?’
‘What the actual hell,’ said another user.
Someone else added: ‘I had to read this 3-4 times and thought what you on about, what’s the problem. Then i see it and now cant unsee it. WTAF!’
‘What in fresh hell? I can hardly believe my eyes. Disgusting,’ said another critic.
Another user commented: ‘Had to re-read this to see the offensive words. But bloody hell that’s bad!!!!’
‘Bizarre,’ someone else agreed.
A Tu spokesperson said: ‘We’re truly sorry for the upset this has caused.
‘We have listened to the concerns which have been shared and are urgently updating the product labelling.’
