Trader Joe’s Declines To Change Product Names Over Online Petition

From CBS Los Angeles:

July 30, 2020

SANTA MONICA (CBSLA) — More than 5,000 people have signed an online petition posted a few weeks ago urging Trader Joe’s to relabel products labeled Trader José, Trader Giotto’s and Trader Ming’s.

The petition alleges that the branding is racist and demanded it be changed. And while it originally seemed like the company was going to take action in response to the calls for change, the company has released a new statement that it would stay the course.

“A few weeks ago, an online petition was launched calling on us to ‘remove racist packaging from [our] products,'” the company said. “We want to be clear: we disagree that any of these labels are racist. We do not make decisions based on petitions.”

Trader Joe’s also said some of the names have been used for decades, saying that they believed the “naming of products could be fun and show appreciation for other cultures.”

Read more at CBS Los Angeles