The story of Zara’s swastika handbag
The high-street label, Zara, found itself in trouble in 2007 soon after it launched handbags embroidered with Nazi-style swastikas. Zara, a company that has had wide success with their fashion-forward sensibility since their first store opened its doors in 1977. Their customer base continues to grow and shoppers love their product and current styles. The Zara’s swastika handbags were made by a supplier in India and inspired by commonly used Hindu symbols, which include the swastika.
The swastika also known as the gammadion cross, is a symbol that generally takes the form of an equilateral cross, with its four legs bent at 90 degrees. The swastika is an ancient religious symbol for Hindus and Buddhists,
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A British anti-fascism group had said then that the bags were an attempt to legitimize fascism, according to Reuters. Rachel Hatton, 19, from Ashford, Kent, said she couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the symbol of the Nazi party on her bag. "I really had to look twice. It's identical to the symbol Hitler used to cause fear throughout Europe. I took it back and got my money refunded." However, Zara, owned by the world's second largest fashion retailer Inditex, said to the daily mail, UK that said it did not know the 39£ ($78) handbag had green swastikas on its corners. "After the return of one bag we decided to withdraw the whole range," said a spokesman for Inditex, which has more than 3,330 stores in 66 …show more content…
After reading many articles and viewing some news it appears that Zara may not have selected the handbag, which had the “swastika”, been visible before the order was placed. Also, The staff sold it, as they had not noticed the “offending symbol” which “shocked” them too.
In addition to this there is no difference between the Nazi “swastika” and the Hindu and Buddhist one. Selling anything with a “swastika” on it may be asking for trouble (- does not matter if it is the Hindu symbol which is revered by millions of people – oh, but they are all “Third-world”, aren’t they?)
After this zara's swastika bag was launched the customer were very furious. The customers wanted Zara to draw back all the bags. And Zara did it! It cost them a huge loss. i.e 39£ per handbag. Although, Zara may not have selected the handbag, which had the “swastika”, been visible before the order was placed, they had to draw back the collection and face loss of almost a million.
I hope Zara learns its lesson with this
One pair of LuLaRoe leggings actually features a Swastika. A lot of people are very upset over these LuLaRoe leggings, and that one doesn't even need an explanation. They are very small, so it appears they may have not been put on a pair of LuLaRoe leggings on purpose, but this s
In “The Meaning of Adornment,” a sub-chapter within “Distinction and Display in the Visiting Scene,” Meneley explains how important adornment (fashion) is for Zabidi women. The women made sure that they publicly dress too impressed because they know that their families and themselves will be judged (Meneley 1996: 109). Zabidi women become the active participators when they dress appropriately to their culture to ensure their families’
After World War II, “ A wind is rising, a wind of determination by the have-nots of the world to share the benefit of the freedom and prosperity” which had been kept “exclusively from them” (Takaki, p.p. 383), and people of color in United States, especially the black people, who had been degraded and unfairly treated for centuries, had realized that they did as hard as whites did for the winning of the war, so they should receive the same treatments as whites had. Civil rights movement emerged, with thousands of activists who were willing to scarify everything for Black peoples’ civil rights, such as Rosa Parks, who refused to give her seat to a white man in a segregated bus and
In his essay, “How Susie Bayer’s T-Shirt Ended up on Yusuf Mama’s Back”, George Packer points out an issue that has often been ignored in the society. People leave their used clothes outside the Salvation Army or church, but they do not know where the clothes will go eventually. George Packer did a lot of interviews and investigation into the used clothes trade. Based on this report, many cutural and gender issues have been raised. George Parker uses convincing data as well, since he followed closely the trail of one T-shirt to its final owner in Uganda.
Today, the swastika is typically identified with racism, hate, violence, death, and antisemitism due to the Nazis, however, its history shows that it was primitively a symbol for many other things, including life, the sun, power, good luck, and well-being. The word swastika comes from the Sanskrit svastika, which means “good fortune” or “well-being”. The swastika has been around for thousands of years, and some even say it is the oldest known symbol. It is thought to have first been used in Neolithic Eurasia, perchance depicting the movement of the sun through the sky. The symbol became sacred to the religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and is a common sight to see in places like India and Indonesia.
The article Plastic bags are Good for you, by Katherine Mangu-Ward was written to explore the pro’s and con’s of three different types of bags. Which is better between plastic, paper, or reusable bags has always been a debatable question with an opinionated answer. In the article Mangu-Ward characterizes the cause and effect relationships which have lead to the unpopularity of plastic bags in terms of guilt.
The swastika is one of the earliest known used symbols with a unique history. It is a symbol most recognized as an equilateral cross with its arms bent at 90 degrees. The word "Swastika" comes from the Sanskrit word suastika, "su" meaning "good,""asti" meaning "to be," and “ka” being a suffix. So the true meaning of the swastika is "good to be." The earliest known use of the swastika is in the Upper Paleolithic era, 10,000 years ago, when it was found engraved on a bird figurine made of mammoth ivory near Kiev, Ukraine. The next known usage was for a language. This is the earliest, most frequently used swastika to date. The language was Viňca and what the swastika represented is still unknown. The first known usage of a swastika on a coin was in 315 B.C. It has also been given different names to represent different meanings. One name is the Fylfot. This name was mainly used in Europe pre dating Christianity. It was used in the religion Odinism. It also was a symbol linked to Thor. This is believed because Thor and the symbol were both believed to ward off harmful spirits. Other names for the swastika are the gammadion and tetraskelion. These names were used in Greece. These names were widely distributed in Greece and were placed on their coins. It is believed that this is where Christians found ...
Fashion is a powerful instrument people have used for hundreds of years to assimilate to tribes, or differentiate /express themselves in society. We can be a politician, teacher, or a Hasidic Jew, but we care about what we wear. Fashion stigma comes from the commercial/retail side of the fashion industry. There's cultural significance, and a means of artistic expression that everyone forgets about fashion.
... 1% of the $181 billion U.S. apparel market (Tiplady, 3). The potential growth of fast fashion will expend all over the country just like a flow. H&M got its sales boosted up about 20% in the first three months in 2006. Zara is also going
The article is about “Plastic Bag charged introduced in England”. “Plastic bags used for just a few minutes but take 1000 years to degrade”. Therefore when resources are not used efficiently, market failure arises, which is a situation in which the market does not allocate resources efficiently. Therefore plastic bags are negative externality of consumption, which is when a third party is affected by the consumption of goods and services for which no appropriate compensation is paid.
Another example is Starbucks' logo problem in Saudi Arabia. Due to the country's Islamic convictions, Starbucks' green mermaid logo was thought to be inappropriate and immoral and forced to remove the mermaid with only its brand's name left. (Daniels, Radebaugh, and Sullivan, 2004; Fox, 2011)
Counterfeiting refers to the unwarranted use of a company’s brand name, logo and the like (Staake et al. 2009). Deceptive counterfeiting is where the consumers do not know that the goods are counterfeited. In non-deceptive counterfeiting, the customer is fully aware that the goods they are purchasing are not authentic. This paper focuses on the second type of counterfeiting as consumers are aware that they are buying counterfeited luxury goods.
In the United States, many white supremacist groups have adopted the symbol due to the ideals they share with the Nazi Party such as white power. Media portrays swastikas as evil, an example of this in American broadcasting would be in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy where a patient with a swastika on his stomach had black doctors. The man acted like a typical racist, viewing them as worse doctors just because of their race. (Wilson) Swastikas also are seen as a symbol of fascism to westerners. Multiple countries, mainly in Europe, have banned the symbol from public display due to the stigma it holds. (Day) In the Eastern world swastikas are viewed completely differently. Buddhism is a major religion in Asia and swastikas are seen throughout Buddhist culture. Indians also see the symbol throughout their culture as a symbol of wealth and good fortune. Society influences how people act on a daily basis and where a symbol could cause one reaction by people of one culture, another culture could have a completely different view as is true with the
One pays a large amount of money to buy clothes which sometimes does not suit her/him. It is claimed that clothes and accessories that are in trend are generally the most costly. Not to mention the fact that they go out of fashion very quickly. Furthermore, the current vogue for stylish objects has brought social discrimination, especially among the young generation. It is unfair to the poor, who cannot afford the latest products, being discriminated on the grounds of class or money.
One of the characteristics that is lost fist through the process of westernization of a culture is traditional clothing. Clothing in India, with the exception of traditional vestments such as the Dhoti, Kurta, and Indian Sari, has never been about the aesthetically pleasing look of clothes. Up until the modern era Indians have had clothes recycled from older more worn clothes. This clothe recycling process is known as the “Indian shoddy industry (where clothing is completely destroyed in order to permit the reclamation of its constituent fibres)”(Norris). A now more modernized and westernized India has seen a growth in western name brand clothing such as Levi’s Strauss & Co. Jeans, and other brand name clothing that are favored by adolescents of western society, and have gained increasing popularity amongst Indian adolescents as well. Western clothing has become so popular in India that its own government now considers it a part of traditional Indian clothing. This is a clear example of India 's loss of culture as foreign brands are becoming more prevalent within the Indian mainstream. Not only has western clothing such as jeans and t-shirts been accepted into the Indian mainstream, but