Trader Joe's defends 'racist' packaging and won't drop from stores despite reports

Grocery store chain Trader Joe’s announced that it will not be removing popular international food labels despite being attacked as “racist” over the packaging.

“A few weeks ago, an online petition was launched calling on us to ‘remove racist packaging from [our] products,’” the company said. “Following were inaccurate reports that the petition prompted us to take action. We want to be clear: we disagree that any of these labels are racist. We do not make decisions based on petitions. We make decisions based on what customers purchase, as well as the feedback we receive from our customers and Crew Members. If we feel there is need for change, we do not hesitate to take action.”

The post on the Trader Joe's website refers to previous reports that an online petition gaining over 4,000 signatures had caused them to remove international packaging such as “Trader Jose” and “Trader Ming” while defending the practice against racism claims.