Angry consumers campaign to have 'SAVE A DOG, EAT A CHINESE' shirts removed from sale

Online retailers including Amazon continue to sell the 'Eat a Chinese' shirts, in spite of calls for a boycott by angry consumers - even extending all the way to the Chinese embassy in Berlin, who have suggested continued sale of the "insulting" shirts could damage "friendly" international relations.

T-shirts featuring the slogans 'Save a Dog - Eat a Chinese' and 'Save a Shark - Eat a Chinese' available for sale on clothing company site Spreadshirt Source: Spreadshirt

Local Australian retailer Zazzle have now removed the ‘Eat a Chinese’ shirts from sale after being contacted by SBS Mandarin. 

The shirts in question read 'Save a Dog - Eat a Chinese' and 'Save a Shark - Eat a Chinese,' apparently referencing the traditional consumption of shark fin and dog meat in parts of China, however the selling of dog meat for consumption is now outlawed there.

Anger initially grew after the shirts were identified for sale at German-owned online store of Spreadshirt, a global platform for customisable clothing and accessories based in Germany - but SBS Mandarin has also contacted major online retailers Zazzle and Amazon after identifying shirts sporting the same logo available for sale on these sites and more.  

Spreadshirt state on their website that they are "the go-to-place for anyone looking to realize their creative ideas on quality fabrics."

They also state that they "value freedom of expression, whether it’s with your own designs or those made available by our community."

Many angry consumers took exception however to the following t-shirt designs:

Source: SPREAD SHIRT

According to an updated article on the blog You Offend Me You Offend My Family (YOMYOMF), Spreadshirt advised that the clothing prints in question were removed by the company and are no longer for sale on their website. It seems however that the shirts were only removed from the German, Australian and American sites but remain on sale in the UK.  

A screenshot of one of four shirts still available for sale on the UK site of Spreadshirt, after the company advised they had removed the designs Source: Spreadshirt

The Chinese Embassy in Berlin have issued a statement expressing displeasure and calling on Spreadshirt and the German authorities to asking for "the company to remove all of the T-shirts with insulting inscriptions from China's inscriptions and apologize for them" - lest it damage relations between the companies.

The statement read: “We demand from the German supervisory authorities to exercise their duties with regard to the business activities of the company and the website so that the friendly feelings between our two people will not be damaged."

Author of the original YOMYOMF article Erin Chew, an Asian Australian social activist and entrepreneur, found the message on shirts "extremely problematic" and questioned how it is acceptable to sell a shirt with a racial slur.

The slogan was apparently intended to reference Chinese food but the addition of 'a' seemed to imply that Chinese people should be consumed instead. 

"How is 'SAVE A DOG/SHARK, EAT A CHINESE' acceptable? Can someone explain it to me?"

Chew called on others who believe the slogan is racist to contact the company and "flood them with a protest till these designs are removed."

Following YOMYOMF's article, many took to the company's Facebook page to share their anger:

One user's comment on the Spreadshirt Facebook page Source: Facebook

One Chinese-Australian WeChat user commented on the popular platform: "If the so-called humour is based on a racial prejudice and an improper expression, that is discrimination, should complain!"

Another comments: "I just wonder how many westerns actually do agree on what it says on the tshirt?"

While Spreadshirt responded to the anger by removing the designs from many of their international sites, similar designs are still available for customisation and ordering from a similar business 

One Amazon store sells a 'Save A Shark Eat A Chinese' Kids‘ Hoodie.

Source: Amazon shirt city

SBS Mandarin also identified local online retailer Zazzle selling another T-shirt with the same slogan at a price of $24.90, with user ratings giving the design 4.6 stars rating out of 5.

One apparently satisfied customer had written in the comments: "The design of this shirt was astounding and unique, it was a perfect quality print, I am very satisfied, highly recommended."

After SBS Mandarin contacted Zazzle, they removed the product in question and advised in a statement:

"We're in the process of removing the items in question. Thank you for raising the issue."

"Zazzle is a marketplace where users can upload their own designs onto products so we rely on our community to maintain an open dialogue with us - thank you again for alerting us to these offensive designs.  It can take up to 24 hours for the design to be removed from the Zazzle website."

Chew has also now launched an online petition on change.org, calling for all clothing with the 'Save a dog/shark, eat a Chinese' slogan to be immediately removed from sale.

The petition also states, "We ask all these site to issue a public statement (including Spreadshirt) as an apology to the Asian communities for selling such racist t-shirts. Thus far even though Spreadshirt has removed the shirts, there has not been a public and formal acknowledgement."

SBS Mandarin has also contacted Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, in regard to the sweatshirt that remains on sale on their site, but has not received a response.