An Australian clothing brand has come under fire for posting what appeared to be an image of a swastika on its official Facebook page.
The ‘Seed’ company posted a picture of two pairs of boots arranged into the shape of a swastika, Australia’s news.com.au reported.
The image elicited comments from a number of concerned individuals stating that the image, which faced to the left rather than the right, resembled a Nazi swastika. While the company did not respond to the complaints, it did answer comments inquiring into the price of the boots, the Australian news site reported.
The photo, which was posted on Wednesday, was only taken down Friday morning after news.com.au contacted the company.
The timing seems particularly conspicuous as the image was posted the same week as Holocaust Remembrance Day, commemorating the six million Jews who were brutally murdered at the hands of the Nazis.
Denise Haughley, general manager of 'Seed' told news.com.au that it was “concerned” to hear that its image had been interpreted as “anything other than a display of colors of our children’s gumboots”.
“We would like to state that this image was not intended to offend, and we sincerely apologize if it has caused any offence,” she said.
“Please note that the post has been removed to ensure that there is no further possibility of the image being interpreted in any other way than intended.”