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| Thursday, 29 July 2004 |
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Victoria's Secret apologises for offensive use of Buddha image on swimwear Limited Brands, Inc. which owns the 'Victoria Secret' brand name has apologised for inadvertently offending Sri Lankans, particularly Buddhists, with their floral bikini depicting the image of the Buddha. The company has also ceased all sales of the product and removed the images of the swimsuits from their website. The apology comes in response to a representation made by the Sri Lanka Embassy in Washington D.C. USA., the Foreign Ministry said in a release yesterday. Last month, following representations by a delegation of Buddhist monks to Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, the Ministry instructed all Sri Lanka Missions abroad to make representations in their countries of accreditation to remove the offending items from the market. The Minister also convened a meeting of all Ambassadors and High Commissioners of countries where large Buddhist populations live. Anthony Hebron, Vice President/External Communications of Limited Brands, Inc. wrote to Sri Lanka's ambassador in Washington expressing the "sincere apologies" of Limited Brands, Inc. and Victoria's Secret. The Company has stated there was "no intention of showing any disrespect to Lord Buddha or Buddhism". The Vice President informed the Embassy that the company which supplied the floral bikini design with the offending Buddha image to victoria's Secret has also stopped selling the bikini from their catalogue, removed it from their website and issued an open apology. |
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