Urban Outfitters isn't the only retailer who sells offensive clothing.
Case in point, the people who came up with the gross idea of creating a t-shirt emblazoned with Kurt Cobain's suicide note on it.
According to Uproxx, an Etsy store was, up until recently, selling the crude shirts. The t-shirts were also being sold on eBay for $25, although the listings seem to have been taken down.
Obviously, the Internet was outraged and a Change.org petition was created asking Etsy and Ebay to remove the shirts and issue a public apology:
It has recently come to my attention that small independent businesses all over the web have been selling merchandise (ie, T-shirts, tank tops, etc) with Kurt Cobain’s very real suicide letter printed all over them.
This not only is a huge insult and slap to the face toward the legend Kurt Cobain himself, but as well as to all of his loved ones, his devoted fans, his legacy, and most importantly people around the world who currently suffer with mental illnesses of their own such as depression, anxiety and self image dysphoria.
Mental illness and suicidal behavior is not a fashion statement, and it is not meant to be glamorized or flaunted about on a t-shirt. These shirts do nothing but encourage impressionable minds that these tendencies and behaviors are something to be displayed proudly or as some sort of cool status. Wearing this merchandise is no different than wearing a shirt with a depiction of a plane crashing into the World Trade Center.
I am formally asking all businesses that carry these utterly disrespectful shirts (as well as all other merchandise with the printed note) to formally apologize for ever selling them in the first place, and to immediately discontinue the distribution of said products.
Although the shirts have since been removed from Etsy and Ebay, some people were able to grab a few for themselves before the listings were taken down.
Guys, we shouldn't have to tell you this, but suicide is not cool or stylish.
Are you in crisis? Need help? In Canada, find links and numbers to 24-hour suicide crisis lines in your province here.