Chinese clothing brand JNBY apologises for clothes with words ‘welcome to hell’ and ‘let me touch you’ after consumer backlash
- The images of purgatory and clothing with people killing Indian people have triggered widespread shock and condemnation in China
- The company has pulled some of the offending items but others appeared to still be in circulation
A major Chinese fashion brand has apologised for children’s clothing with images of purgatory, Indian people being shot and the words “welcome to hell”, and “let me touch you” on them.
JNBY, a leading local brand for both adults and children, said it has pulled all products with the design after a Chinese mother posted online that her family accidentally bought one of the shirts for her 4-year-old son.
The mother, named Mogu Mogu on the platform, shared photos on Monday of a white shirt with the images and remarks in black, which she realised only recently as it was bought by her son’s grandparents who don’t speak English.
“Welcome to hell. Excuse me? Who are you welcoming? And all these images of purgatory … a child aged four wearing such a shirt. Just the thought of it disturbs me,” she wrote.
The post went viral, with many criticising the company, which is listed in Hong Kong, for being ignorant and irresponsible.
“‘Welcome to hell’ may sound like self-deprecating for adults, but it’s different when it comes to designs for children,” one user said.
“‘Let me touch you’? Is the designer promoting paedophilia?” another commented.
Some people online pointed to other children’s clothing made by JNBY with similarly controversial designs.
A black down coat shared by another user showed an image of a South Asian person being shot by multiple arrows, with the words: “The whole place is full of Indians. I will take this gun and blow them to pieces.”
The company apologised on the lifestyle sharing app Xiaohongshu on Wednesday following the backlash.
“We are deeply sorry for the improper images on our children’s wear products and the trouble they have caused to our customers,” said the company in a comment under Mogu’s post, but made no post on it’s own account.
The company vowed to check its designs more carefully in the future in its response to the mother’s post, but has not published a formal apology or any explanation as to how such designs ended up on children’s clothing.
Established in 1994, JNBY has become one of the most popular local designer brands in China, with a total revenue of 2.3 billion yuan (US$335 million) in the second half of last year.
The mother said she has been offered a refund, but called for more action from the company.
“Between 2018 and 2019, it produced and sold many such clothes. Thousands of children may be wearing them. As far as I know, several mothers protested at its T-mall shop or physical shop last year after buying this one, but the issue was left unsettled,” she said in a follow up post on Wednesday.
