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Big W joins Aldi, recalls 'inflammatory' Australia Day shirts after advertising backlash

UPDATE: BIG W have joined Aldi in recalling a range of Australia Day t-shirt designs that were deemed "culturally insensitive" and "inflammatory". But that's not all - they also got the date wrong.

Matt YoungMatt Young
@MattYoung
3 min read
January 9, 2014 - 10:42AM
NewsComAu
The controversial T-shirts as advertised on the Aldi website.
The controversial T-shirts as advertised on the Aldi website.

DISCOUNT supermarket chain Big W has announced it will join Aldi in withdrawing a range of its Australia Day shirts.

This comes off the back of Aldi's announcement yesterday that it will remove a range of its own t-shirt designs after copping backlash over advertising "inflammatory" and culturally insensitive Australia Day shirts in its latest catalogue and online.

A spokeswoman for Big W confirmed to news.com.au two designs will be withdrawn for sale from stores this morning.

The designs feature a similar theme to that of Aldi's "Australia est. 1788" designs, but are slightly more expensive at $9.94 in comparison to Aldi's $4.99 shirts.

The chain did not issue a statement.

This comes off the back of news that the Federal Government approved Aldi's seven Australia Day designs in July 2013, including the offending t-shirt.

But what the Government missed was the historical inaccuracies presented by "est. 1788".

Technically, Australia was not officially established until 1824 when it was agreed by the British Admiralty that the continent, then known as "New Holland", would be officially known as Australia after a recommendation by Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1817.

Earlier this week users on social media called for the Aldi shirts to be pulled from stores after deeming it profoundly racist.

The shirts were advertised on the Aldi website, but have since been removed.

While the First Fleet landed in Australia in 1788, Australia's indigenous population have inhabited the land for at least 40,000 years prior. Many still call Australia Day, Invasion Day.

The Aldi shirts in question were not yet on sale, but the remainder of the range, without the offending slogan, is advertised to hit stores on January 11 and "will still be available", according to Aldi's statement.

"ALDI Australia wants its customers to know it puts the community and their wishes first," read a statement issued this afternoon.

"ALDI Australia has decided to remove one of its Australia Day special buy products, the Adults Australia Day T-shirt and Singlet from retail.

"The decision to remove the Australia Est. 1788 design from the range was taken following comments by a limited number of concerned customers."

But it still hasn't stopped a storm of criticism from activists and concerned Australians.

"I don't know why they've done it," Nareen Young, CEO Diversity Council Australia, told news.com.au.

"It's insensitive at a sensitive time of the year, where some people in the community thinks it's dismissive of other people's feelings around the nature of how modern Australia came about.

"It would be good manners for everyone to be respectful around this time.

"[People need to be] a bit careful and sensitive ... [the shirts] seem to be inflammatory and buying right into the division, and there's no need for that."

One user by the name of Carly posted her mum's formal complaint to Aldi on Twitter.

"I am deeply disappointed with our Aussie T-shirts," she wrote.

"To state that 'Australia' was 'Est 1788' is a gross misrepresentation of historical fact and an insult to the original inhabitants who had lived here for many thousands of years prior to the forcible takeover by the British.

"I would have thought the selling of these shirts was incongruous to your ideals."

When News.com.au first contacted Aldi for comment, a rep for the discount chain said it was not aware of the controversy.

The Aldi Twitter account did apologise to offended users on Twitter, saying "We apologise for any offense taken in regards to our Australia Day T-shirts".

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Original URL: https://www.couriermail.com.au/business/companies/big-w-joins-aldi-recalls-inflammatory-australia-day-shirts-after-advertising-backlash/news-story/5d9cab059035ad48bce4b214ccf32f4d