We just can’t seem to get away from that old South African flag.

Whether it’s appearing in the background of Steve Hofmeyr’s tweets or on proud display by AfriForum, the flag that flew over the apartheid regime is like herpes. Nobody wants it, but it keeps coming back.

FYI, it’s considered hate speech to display the old flag, so you’d think we’d be rid of it.

Instead, someone in the design team at Country Road, a clothing company owned by Woolworths, produced a bag that’s a little too reminiscent of the old Oranje, Blanje, Blou.

Business Insider SA with this:

The Country Road Logo Tote bag was spotted by Reddit South Africa users on Monday. It featured Country Road branding with the colours orange, white and blue.

…Speaking to Business Insider South Africa, Country Road said it regrets that the applications of its seasonal colours have caused offence, and has pulled the bags from sale. The bag was designed in Australia.

It said the Country Road signature Logo Tote is characterised by its five-stripe design and updated seasonally in new colours.

I think far too many South Africans have moved to Australia and it’s affecting their seasonal colours, which they describe as Azure Blue, Marshmallow, Orange, Baby Blue and Navy.

The faux pas was beautifully summed up by this post on Reddit:

Woolworths has pulled the bags from the shelves and Country Road had the following to say:

“[We] offer our sincerest apologies to all our South African customers. It is never our intention to cause offence and we have decided to discontinue sales of this item,” Country Road said.

Meanwhile, at Truworths…

In a social media post, shared on Monday, a Truworths store display window was shared with lighter mannequins placed under the Daniel Hechter brand, and darker mannequins placed under the Uzzi brand.

Daniel Hechter is a more expensive brand than Uzzi, in case you’re wondering why people found this offensive.

Uzzi has also popped up in a few South African courtrooms over the years.

Truworths tried to backpedal:

“The selection of the mannequins we use in our windows and on our shop floors, is by no means selected to reflect South African society or the customer identity of Truworths brands Daniel Hechter and Uzzi,’ Truworths told Business Insider.

Sure. Maybe just have a think before setting up your shop windows, or putting out the merchandise.

Not your best work.

[source:businessinsider]