BIG W issues apology and pulls Halloween costume after backlash
BIG W has issued an apology and pulled a particular Halloween costume following online backlash.
Earlier this week, Rachel Green, CEO of mental health organisation SANE, took to LinkedIn to criticize the BIG W and fellow Australian retailer, Spotlight, for selling an ‘Insane Asylum Costume’ made up of a white straightjacket.
“Living with mental health issues isn’t a halloween costume. Please do better and pull these products from sale,” Green wrote.
In a statement given to Mumbrella, a BIG W spokesperson confirmed that the product – which was available online only via its third party seller BIG W Market website – has been removed.
“We are sorry for any impact we may have caused to the community in having this costume available in our Halloween range,” the spokesperson said.
“As soon as we were made aware, we immediately removed it from sale on BIG W Market on 29 October.
“We have spoken with SANE Australia to understand the impact of stigma and experiences of people with complex mental health issues and their families, and are aligned with their position and values. We will continue the conversation to take a proactive approach line with our values around mental health and wellbeing.”
Rachel Green
Green issued another LinkedIn post on Wednesday evening, writing: “I commend Big W’s leadership for recognising those costumes were not at all in line with their values, for taking the time to listen and understand why these costumes are harmful to the complex mental health community and for committing to an ongoing conversation around complex mental health.”
Sally Branson, PR crisis communications expert and managing director of The Sally Branson Consulting Group, said the move by BIG W is the right one.
“Without a doubt we will have people claiming that BIG W have been too reactive and ‘woke’ but the reality is that mental health issues affect almost every Australian household and workplace,” she told Mumbrella.
“To correlate mental health with something spooky, tightening or scary sets back any progress we may have made to understand mental health. The real fright here? That someone in the buyers department thought it was OK, and on and on until it got this far.”
Sally Branson
While the same costume has been removed from Spotlight’s website, the retailer is yet to address the matter publicly.
Mumbrella has reached out to Spotlight for comment.
Earlier this year, BIG W was one of many local outlets embroiled in controversy, when parent company Woolworths Group announced it would ditch specific Australia Day merchandise, with a spokesperson telling Mumbrella at the time: “While Australian flags are sold within BIG W all year round, we don’t have any additional themed merchandise available to purchase in-store in our supermarkets or BIG W ahead of Australia Day.”
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