An advert for a pair of school trousers has been deleted by Argos after social media users complained the name of the product was linked to a slur used by racists.
The two-pack of “grey reinforced knee grow hem woven trousers” for seven-year-olds has connotations to a slur frequently used by racists, according to X user Esheru Kwaku.
In his post, directed at Argos and Sainsbury’s, which acquired the company in 2016, Kwaku wrote: “Hi @sainsburys @Argos_Online I know you’re the same company, are you aware that the item name below is freely used by racists to by pass n-word filters?
“May I suggest renaming the item. Also maybe a few black faces in the decision making process, to avoid this in the future.”
A spokesperson for Tu, the own-brand clothing label from Sainsbury’s, apologised and confirmed to Yahoo News UK that the product will be renamed following the criticism.
They said: “We’re truly sorry for the upset this has caused. We have listened to the concerns which have been shared and are urgently updating the product labelling."
For others who can’t figure it out, like myself for too long: “knee grow” when spoken is “negro”
I literally never would have made that connection
Me neither, but that is probably something that should have been realized is an unfortunate name when said out loud.