Fashion giant Next withdraws 'Sinners' tops after Christian group complains
Fashion giant Next has withdrawn a T-shirt and sweatshirt from sale following complaints from religious groups.
Bosses at the Leicestershire retail company withdrew the items at the weekend after being contacted by a Christian group.
The men's tops, which carried the slogan 'Sinners – The Night Before' and bore a seductive image of a woman in black underwear and high heels lying on a bed, were withdrawn from sale in stores and online.
A number of definitions of sin, including one from the Bible, were also included on the tops, along with slogans such as "Live for the day" and "Seize the night and all it may hold".
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Gareth Davies, head of the churches department at Christian Action Research and Education (Care), contacted Next via its official Facebook page on Friday to complain.
He posted: "Why are you marketing graphic T-shirts with misogynistic poses of women in underwear and promoting such images using the Bible?"
Mr Davies said he contacted Next after a distressed woman rang Care to complain about the T-shirt.
He said: "The image itself is very unhelpful. It gives a message about availability and vulnerability of women.
"They are then using the word sin and words from the Bible to suggest this is naughty but nice.
"The whole concept is wrong-headed and demeaning to women. Human dignity should be cherished and women should not be reduced to the level of an object."
A number of Christian and non-religious people joined the condemnation using Twitter and personal blogs.
Mr Davies said he was impressed with the way Next handled his complaint.
He said: "It took just five hours from my complaining to them getting back to me to tell me they were going to withdraw the shirts.
"Initially, they said they wanted to think about it. They thought about it then gave me the good news."
Norman Wells, director of the Family Education Trust, an independent think-tank pioneering research into the causes and effects of family breakdown, also criticised Next for putting the tops on sale.
He said: "We welcome Next's swift response to customer complaints and expressions of public concern.
"However, the question still remains as to how products that demean women and encourage a casual attitude to sex were ever allowed to feature in the range in the first place.
"We hope Next will now take steps to ensure that such a gross misjudgment is not repeated in the future."
A Next spokesman said: "We received some customer complaints regarding a man's T-shirt and sweatshirt. On reflection, we agree it was a mistake to sell these garments and we are removing them from sale."
Comments
by mivoice1
Thursday, September 13 2012, 8:57AM
“Gareth Davies and Norman Wells might wish to consider locking themselves in a darken room if they find this t-shirt offensive, i,ve seen far worse things worn by people walking down the street, sexual imagery is on most magazines covers and tv advertising. having seen the t-shirt I would say its no more offensive than many underwear adverts. And it was only the other year that an ice cream company launched a range of saints and sinners ice creams....should they have been banned too. Whilst I wouldnt buy the t-shirt personally I'd like to think I had bigger issues to be concerned with other than an image on a tee shirt...plus I would be interested to see the male version of the shirt...a man in just his underwear or would that be demeaning to man? and I totally agree with Fruit_Gums final comment "GET A LIFE" and yes I,m a sinner....”
by Fruit_Gum
Wednesday, September 12 2012, 8:22PM
“You don't like it BUT you don't HAVE to buy it!
Stop moaning and get a life!”
by georgeisafish
Wednesday, September 12 2012, 8:06PM
“its an awful t shirt, but im not offended by it. its hardly full nudity, its not porn, its just an average woman in black undies? its not a down blouse shot, with come get it written across? you cant really see anything, where's the problem? if people are offended by it, they dont have to buy it. the betterware catalouge has an apron with ***** on the front, shall we all campaign to ban those too? shame on next for deciding to withdraw, im supprised the term withdraw wasnt banned in case of causing offence too.”
by sansue
Wednesday, September 12 2012, 7:22PM
“Didn't someone on here (naming no names) recently claim that Muslims "demanded things" and got them, and claim no other religious group got the same treatment................”
by LikeItaLot
Wednesday, September 12 2012, 7:09PM
“So what is the male equivalent T_shirt like then?”
by Graham_LE8
Wednesday, September 12 2012, 6:34PM
“@ New_Walk_View; "On thing is for sure. You wouldn't catch either Next CEO Simon Wolfson or his new fiancee wearing them at a Conservative Party summer fundraiser"...
Absolutely correct - they'll be able to afford far more exclusive garments on the profits made from the sales of these items of menswear.”
by New_Walk_View
Wednesday, September 12 2012, 5:11PM
“I'm not a churchgoing Christian myself but I agree with Gareth Davies and Norman Wells. The use of the female image in this particular way and in this particular context does demean women.
It's interesting to compare it with Eva Herzogova's 1994 `Hello Boys' advert for Wonderbra which has become a milestone in the genre and was similarly controversial when it came out. The Next design has none of the wit, none of the subtlety and uses the female image in a completely different way.
Goodness knows who would buy such tat and what they think it would tell other people about them. And goodness knows what effect Next thought it would have on the company's brand image.
On thing is for sure. You wouldn't catch either Next CEO Simon Wolfson or his new finacee wearing them at a Conservative Party summer fundraiser.”
by f007e
Wednesday, September 12 2012, 12:45PM
“karinfall1955, i kind of agree with your point, but I don't think either you or I would contact Next and say "This t-shirt isn't to my taste, so prevent anyone from buying it", and if we did we wouldn't be taken seriously.
I also don't think the t-shirt is as offensive as a representation of an instrument of torture, for instance, a cross. So, let's say I choose to be offended by such displays of instruments of torture i wonder if the church would respond so quickly and remove all of them.”
by Scottmason
Wednesday, September 12 2012, 12:34PM
“The sooner the world is rid of religion, the better!”
by karinfall1955
Wednesday, September 12 2012, 11:05AM
“I have to say as one with no religious belief and pretty liberal views it is a pretty horrible 't' shirt. Who wants to walk around wearing something with what looks like the front cover of the Sunday Sport on their chest?”