Wayfair pulls beach towel depicting Hindu deity off website after organization’s objections

An item featuring a sacred Hindu image won’t be heading to the shore any time soon.

© Jenny Kane
Online retailer Wayfair has pulled a beach towel depicting the Hindu deity Ganesha.

Online retailer Wayfair has yanked off its website a beach towel emblazoned with deity Ganesha, which resembles an elephant, after a complaint from a Hindu organization, reported The Associated Press.

In a statement, Universal Society of Hinduism president Rajan Zed claimed Wayfair not only removed the item less than one hour after listening to the gripe but offered an apology, too.

Zed called the “Hindu Elephant Beach Towel,” which cost $26, “highly inappropriate” but thanked the Boston-based retailer for its understanding.

“(Wayfair) should not be in the business of religious appropriation, sacrilege and ridiculing entire communities,” commented Zed, who advises companies’ senior executives to receive cultural and religious sensitivity training.

Hindus worship Ganesha as a wisdom deity and his name is frequently invoked prior to starting any major project, according to Zed.

The Universal Society of Hinduism noted that Wayfair had also previously removed bathmats, pillows and cutting boards emblazoned with Ganesha’s image after objections by other Hindus adherents.

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Wayfair isn’t the only company that Zed’s organization — part of an interfaith coalition — has recently targeted for cultural disregard.

The organization has demanded that Anheuser-Busch InBev rename its Brahma beer line, which shares its name with a Hindu god. But the booze behemoth claims the brand isn’t named for the deity. The coalition has also beseeched nightclubs to quit using sacred Hindu and Buddhist imagery as part of its interior scheme, according to The AP.