6th December 2024 – Walmart USA has now removed objectionable slippers and bathing suit items which were up for sale after Hindu American Foundation (HAF) raised concerns about it.
The items had pictures of God Ganesha on slippers and bathing suits.
HAF wrote on X about it and stated, “Dear @walmarthelp: @HinduAmerican has written directly to @Walmart regarding the disrespectful misuse of Hindu imagery on slippers & bathing suits.
Ganesha is a deity worshipped by more than a billion followers of Dharma religions around the world as the remover of obstacles. We ask that these respectful items be immediately discontinued for sale. We are ready to dialogue as to commercial use of Hindu images and have detailed guidelines here”
HAF later confirmed that Walmart has removed the slippers from the online catalogue.
Here is link to guidelines referred to by HAF in their original message to Walmart – https://www.hinduamerican.org/projects/commercial-use-hindu-images-guide
