Walmart is facing backlash for selling T-shirts that are derived from the “Black Lives Matter” slogan including ones that say “All Lives Matter,” “Blue Lives Matter,” “Irish Lives Matter” and “Homeless Lives Matter.”
The world’s largest retailer has recently been selling the shirts online at Walmart.com and on the Walmart Canada website.
Outrage quickly spread across social media over the shirts, with accusations that the company was mocking the Black Lives Matter movement against police brutality and racial injustice.
Walmart said in a statement to CNN that the online marketplace includes third-party sellers who must pass a review based on a number of criteria before they are approved to sell items on the website.
Sellers can’t post illegal or prohibited products and the additional criteria includes ensuring the products they sell comply with all applicable laws, regulations, legal requirements and generally accepted industry standards.
Walmart Canada, however, appeared to pull down the “All Lives Matter” shirts from the retailer’s Canadian website after facing backlash over the designs, CBC reported.
The company told the outlet that it is investigating to see if the items breach the company’s “terms and conditions.”
In a statement, Walmart Canada said: “We stand against any form of racism or discrimination. We promote listening, seeking to understand and embracing individual differences.”
The Hill has reached out to Walmart for comment.
CNN also noted that clothing bearing the phrases “All Lives Matter,” “Blue Lives Matter” and “Irish Lives Matter” have also been available on Amazon.
The slogan became a rallying cry in 2013 after George Zimmerman was acquitted of the murder of Black teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida.
The phrase has resurged as part of a national conversation in recent weeks following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died in Minneapolis police custody last month.
The T-shirt controversy also comes after Walmart CEO Doug McMillon earlier this month pledged to donate $100 million over five years to create a new center on racial equity.
McMillon condemned racial violence and said the company plans to make changes to fight for greater racial equity inside and outside of Walmart.
“The global health crisis has tested all of us in recent months, and the racial violence in the U.S.— in particular, the murder of George Floyd — is tragic, painful and unacceptable,” McMillon wrote in the email to employees.