A Twitter campaign urging consumers to boycott Walmart Inc. led to the retailer removing some items from its online marketplace that promoted the impeachment of President Donald Trump, but the very same T-shirts are available on Amazon.com Inc. and other sites.
The hashtag #BoycottWalmart WMT, +0.31%[1] started trending in response to a range of T-shirts uncovered late Monday with the message “Impeach 45”[2] emblazoned on the front. The T-shirts were still available on the site Tuesday at prices ranging from $16.95 to $41.95 for a long-sleeved version.
“These items were sold by third-party sellers on our open marketplace, and were not offered directly by Walmart,” a Walmart spokeswoman said. “We’re removing these types of items pending review of our marketplace policies.”
However, the same T-shirts were still available on Amazon AMZN, +0.30%[3] on Thursday, also from third-party sellers including Kamal Ohava.[4][5]
There were also “Impeach 45” T-shirts on arts-and-crafts platform Etsy Inc. ETSY, +1.24%[6] from a variety of sellers[7]. eBay.com EBAY, +0.64%[8] was also offering versions [9]of the T-shirts.
Amazon and eBay did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Etsy declined to comment.
Most of the Walmart T-shirts were made by Old Glory,[10] a Connecticut-based company that makes T-shirts for music and entertainment events, but there were also versions on offer from City Shirts, [11]and Hanes Brands Inc.[12] HBI, -0.70%[13] the company that is known for its plain underwear and other basic clothing.
Trump supporters were irate, as was evident in the many tweets criticizing Walmart.
Not that I needed another reason to Boycott Walmart, but they just gave me one and solidified it for me.#BoycottWalmart #istandwithtrump pic.twitter.com/WJLPCBIs8u[14][15][16]
— Deplorable in the Valley (@DennisNDee)July 3, 2018
What the hell were you thinking? Pissing off half your customers so you could sell a couple of t-shirts??#BoycottWalmart[18]...
— Shaun McKenzie (@ShaunMcKenzie86)July 3, 2018