T.J. Maxx has been forced to withdraw a T-shirt depicting a hangman 's noose , amid accusations that the company is glorifying suicide and racist lynch mobs . The controversy started when a Twitter user , @ PsychoGF_ , tweeted a picture of the shirt - which also features the slogan , 'hang loose ' - along with the message , 'It is absolutely sickening that @ TJMaxx thinks it 's okay to sell a shirt like this ' . The store contacted the user quickly , in an attempt to limit the damage . But the picture quickly went viral , with Twitter users saying that the design 'glorifies suicide ' and had 'obvious racial overtones ' . Offensive : This T-shirt , produced by surfing clothing company Tavik and stocked by T.J. Maxx , caused controversy as Twitter users said it glorified suicide and lynch mobs . It was eventually withdrawn . Next , the growing Twitter storm directed itself at Tavik , the Californian surf clothing company that designed and produced the shirt . Users told the company that the shirt was 'disgusting ' and 'repulsive ' , with one asking , 'why is this a shirt ? ' Before long , the shirt was pulled . Tavik 's PR manager , Kelly McElroy said in a statement to The Washington Post : . 'We sincerely apologize for any offense caused by this T-shirt . 'This item was released without going through proper protocols and has zero relation to anything other than surfing . 'We will be pulling this item from retailers immediately . ' T.J. Maxx declined to comment . Defiant : The controversial T-shirt continued to be sold at other online retailers , one of whom is dubbing it 'pleasingly provocative ' Some users , however , complained that the issue was being blown out of proportion . One tweeted , 'you people r so sensitive , it 's just a tee shirt ' . Last night , another retailer , Backcountry.com , continued to stock the shirt , describing it as 'pleasingly provocative ' . The shirt no longer appears on the site .
The shirt also carried the slogan , ' hang loose ' It was coined by one Twitter user and quickly went viral . Users branded it ' repulsive ' and ' disgusting ' The company quickly banned the shirt from stores . But some Twitter users did not know what all the fuss was about .