Internet retailer Wayfair Inc. has removed a beach towel carrying the image of Hindu deity Lord Ganesha from its website after a Nevada man who is a Hindu devotee called the item "highly inappropriate."
On Thursday, the Business Journal was emailed a press release in which Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, urged the Boston-based company (NYSE: W) to immediately remove the Lord Ganesha beach towel. In the release, posted on Zed's website, he wrote that Lord Ganesha is "meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not for wiping various parts of your body, lie, sit, stand, walk on it, drying pet-animals, placing your shoes or stuff on it, for mercantile greed."
Ganesha, the elephant-headed Hindu God of beginnings, is highly revered in Hinduism as the patron of intellectuals, bankers, scribes and authors.
The beach towel, carrying a blue-and-orange depiction of the God, was priced at $25.99.
Zed's website describs the Universal Society of Hinduism as a Reno, Nevada-based organization established in 2011. Asked how many members the society represents, Zed responded in an email, "Universal Society of Hinduism takes up Hindu issues worldwide. It is not a membership organization." Zed further wrote that he had "emailed Wayfair and am waiting for their response."
Zed did not immediately say when he emailed Wayfair, but said he also urged Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah to offer a formal apology, noting that this was not the first time that the company offered products deemed offensive by Hindu devotees. In 2018, Zed successfully got Wayfair to remove a cutting board for sale that was also carrying the image of Hindu deity Ganesha, the Boston Herald reported. On his site, Zed thanked Wayfair "for understanding the concerns of Hindu community."
Contacted by the Business Journal, a Wayfair spokesperson said in an email that, to the best of their knowledge, the company had not been contacted by Mr. Rajan Zed about the beach towel. However, the spokesperson said, "We sincerely appreciate you bringing this product to our attention. We have taken immediate steps to remove the product from site."
The product was not available on the Wayfair website as of early Thursday afternoon.
A search for "Hindu Decor" on Wayfair gets over 380 results, including items such as wall masks, figurines and canvas prints. A coffee mug decorated with the image of Hindu Divine Mother Lakshmi goes for sale at $12.99, according to the website.
Wayfair, which delivered its first-ever profitable quarter this summer, was recently the victim of a baseless conspiracy theory related to human beings for sale.
Workers for ABM Industries sanitize the MBTA Back Bay station during business hours to help prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Total revenue 2019
| Rank | Prior Rank | Company/Prior rank (*unranked in 2019)/URL |
|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | GE (General Electric Co.) |
2 | 2 | Raytheon Technologies Corp. |
3 | 2 | The TJX Cos. Inc. |
