Dive Brief:

• Urban Outfitters is facing a slew of criticism over a vintage Kent State sweatshirt that was sold on its website, which contained faded red stains that many said imitated blood spatter. 
• The retailer has issued an apology, saying the naturally faded sweatshirt in no way was intended to reference the 1970 shooting at Kent State that killed four students. 
• Kent State University issued a statement on Monday, saying: "We take great offense to a company using our pain for their publicity and profit." 

Dive Insight:

Whether this unsightly gaffe was intentional or not, public reaction has been fiercely critical. Urban Outfitters says the one-of-a-kind vintage sweatshirt was unaltered and faded naturally. But we have to wonder how the shirt made it to its site without someone making the connection between the red stains and the 1970 shooting. 

It's this kind of oversight that has caused trouble for the retailer in the past around other controversial pieces of clothing. With repeated quarters of falling sales, the company isn't in a good position to dive away potential shoppers over insensitive merchandise.