By Aiden Pink August 8, 2017

A popular online clothing store has removed a series of t-shirts featuring rainbow-festooned swastikas after a public outcry, but the designers of the garments seem to be defending their choices.

The design firm, KA Design, claimed that they wanted to de-Nazify the swastika and return it to its past status as a “symbol of love and peace.” They sold shirts with the ancient Hindu symbol on a rainbow backdrop surrounded by words like “peace,” “zen” and “love.”

The shirts were quickly removed by the store where they were posted, Teespring.com. The website released a statement on Monday saying that it removed the designs the moment they were made aware of them, and that no shirts were sold. “Teespring would like to apologize for this incident and is taking action to ensure this does not happen again in the future,” the company said, pledging to make a donation to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum in Israel.

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However, in a Facebook post on Monday, KA Design fell short of offering a similar apology:

Hatred and Nazism have won. We brought out the worst in people. We believe in a world of infinite forgiveness. We forgive everyone. And we hope to be forgiven. Let Love Prevail. Teespring has nothing to do with our project. It is a beautiful company with the nicest people around. Leave all the Hate to us. Thank you. We will keep fighting.

The graphic accompanying the post was the word “Love” on a rainbow backdrop — with a swastika filling the letter O.

Image by Facebook

Contact Aiden Pink at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink.

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