The Hardest-Working Paper in America | 
Thursday, April 25, 2024
Business

Hallmark pulls gift wrap after swastika complaint

By  Sun-Times Wire
   
SHARE Hallmark pulls gift wrap after swastika complaint

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Hallmark Cards Inc. has removed blue and silver gift wrap from circulation after a customer complained that she saw a swastika embedded in the design.

The Kansas City, Missouri-based company alerted retailers to the problem Monday after receiving a complaint Sunday night from a Walgreens customer in Northridge, California. The disputed wrap was featured in a Hanukkah display but Hallmark spokeswoman Julie Elliott says the gift wrap wasn’t intended for the Jewish holiday.

The Kansas City Star reports the gift wrap was distributed by Walgreen, which is no longer selling it.

Elliott said in a news release that Hallmark didn’t intend to offend anyone.

She said it was an oversight that no one at Hallmark noticed that intersecting lines in the paper could be seen as a swastika pattern.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Next Up In Business
Netflix looks to curb password sharing, considers ads
Food packager plans to build a new plant, add jobs on the South Side
Putin’s pollock: U.S. seafood imports fuel Russian war machine
Democrat Giannoulias in the driver’s seat in race for campaign cash in hotly contested secretary of state contest
New HIRE360 small-business development center receives $3 million investment
Chicago casino sites gain critics on the City Council
The Latest
Israel-Hamas War
US, 17 other countries call on Hamas to release hostages
The joint statement is the latest attempt at public pressure to advance negotiations over a potential cease-fire with Israel.
By Associated Press
 
Northwestern students set up a protest camp on Deering Meadow on Thursday morning.
Israel-Hamas War
Northwestern students set up Palestine protest camp on campus; clashes with police reported
A news release from NU Educators for Justice in Palestine, Student Liberation Union and Jewish Voice for Peace said the camp is meant to be “a safe space for those who want to show their support of the Palestinian people.”
By Isabel Funk
 
fathers of housemusic.jpeg. Vince Lawrence (from left), Wayne Williams, Curtis McClain, Byron Stingily, Chip E., and Marshall Jefferson (Credit Tara Lawrence).
NASCAR In Chicago
Top house music artists to perform during NASCAR Chicago Street Race Weekend
Powerhouse showcase is part of a weekend of music events planned for Grant Park’s Festival Field great lawn, which also features previously announced sets by Keith Urban, the Chainsmokers, the Black Keys and Lauren Alaina.
By Miriam Di Nunzio
 
Generic Chicago Police Department
Other Views
Hate crimes keep increasing. Here's what Chicago is doing about it.
Last year, Black and Brown residents, Muslim Americans, Jewish Americans, members of the LGBTQ+ community and others were targeted in hate crimes more than 300 times. Smart new policies, zero tolerance, cooperation and unity can defeat hate.
By Debra Silverstein
 
Renderings of the proposed new Bears stadium
Columnists
Bears have designs on the lakefront, as Mayor Johnson plays the wrong position of cheerleader-in-chief
The city is willing to put private interests ahead of public benefit and cheer on a wrongheaded effort to build a massive domed stadium — that would be perfect for Arlington Heights — on Chicago’s lakefront.
By Lee Bey