Racism exposed in the form of T-shirt design

Graphic T-shirt designs should not be used as a shield for racism, and the "open platform principle" an excuse to evade corporate responsibility. But spreadshirt.com CEO Philip Rooke doesn't seem to believe in such universal norms. The Leipzig-based German company he manages allows customers to design and sell T-shirts even with catchphrases like "Save a dog, eat a Chinese" and "Save a shark, eat a Chinese".

These T-shirts, designed by two of spreadshirt.com's customers who could be identified only as Quentin1984 and Monigote, went on sale nearly a month ago and they are still selling despite the strong protests of Chinese people and the Chinese embassy in Berlin on March 10.

In a statement issued on the same day, Rooke said: "We do not judge or censor designs based on their phrasing, social, or political leanings. This open platform principle will mean that, in a few cases, some people may find a design controversial while others do not ... I apologize to anyone who takes any offense" from the designs.