Urban Outfitters removes 'inappropriate' Hindu-themed item

The Hindu community has successfully pressured Philadelphia-based corporation Urban Outfitters to remove an online item depicting the Hindu goddess Lakshmi.

Lotus Jewelry Stand was an "Online Exclusive" item that used the multi-armed deity as its base, but was removed from site just 12 hours after protest, says Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism.

While Zed thanked the retailer for responding rapidly to the concerns of the Hindu community, who called the goddesses depiction "very inappropriate and trivializing of highly revered Hindu deity," he acknowledges an official apology from Urban Outfitters is missing. Especially, says Zed, since this is not the first time Urban Outfitters has caused a stir within the Hindu community.

In 2013, Urban Outfitters was forced to apologize and remove Lord Ganesha socks from stores and online after protest. Following another Zed led protest, Urban Outfitters also removed a Lord Ganesh Duvet Cover in 2014.

Though a Google search still yields images of the Lotus Jewelry Stand with links to the Urban Outfitters website, it is listed as unavailable when navigating to those links.

Urban Outfitters is known for its controversial products. In July 2015, Twitter responded to the store's overpriced goods marketed to mainly minorities with the hashtag #UrbanOutfittersBeLike.