French clothing company Lacoste has issued an apology and taken measures to rectify a controversy arising from its recent release of a collection of polo shirts featuring a divided map of Morocco.
The design of the shirts, which excluded Morocco’s southern provinces, has faced strong backlash and condemnation from Moroccans.
In a statement shared today by Morocco’s state-owned National Company of Radio and Television (SNRT), Minister of Industry and Trade Ryad Mezzour said that the French ready-to-wear company acknowledged the marketing misstep and expressed their apologies.
Lacoste has made the decision to withdraw the controversial polo shirts from all points of sale worldwide.
Responding to concerns raised by Moroccans, Mezzour noted that the ministry’s services promptly initiated thorough investigations across textile outlets and manufacturers.
The investigations showed that the products were not manufactured by a Moroccan company and were not offered for sale through authorized Moroccan retailers.
The Moroccan minister emphasized that the company’s representatives in France had been contacted and that they had expressed regret for the “unintended incident.”
In response to the ministry’s request, and in recognition of Morocco’s importance as a strategic partner, the French company immediately withdrew the product from all official outlets worldwide, Mezzour noted.
The controversy began on March 17, when Lacoste unveiled its latest collection of polo shirts featuring a divided map of Morocco that excluded the country’s southern provinces.
Moroccans were outraged by the omission and took to social media to launch a widespread boycott campaign of Lacoste products.
