Target, Walmart, Amazon pull ‘German soldier’ Halloween costume

Target, Walmart and Amazon have removed a controversial Halloween costume from their websites.

The costume, sold by Orion Costumes, was branded as a "German Army Soldier Adult Costume" and included a jacket, trousers with attached boot covers, a belt and a hat. Some online criticism of the costume said that it resembled those worn by German soldiers during World War II.

While listings for the costume still appear on Google when you search for the costume, the individual pages where customers can purchase the costume no longer exist.

"We expect all items sold by third-party sellers on our site to meet our policies and standards," Walmart said in an emailed statement to USA TODAY on Sept. 2. "When violations are detected, we take swift action, including removal of listings, to maintain a trustworthy experience for our customers."

"The product in question was removed immediately once discovered," Amazon said in an emailed statement to USA TODAY on Sept. 2.

Orion Costumes and Target did not respond to a USA TODAY request for comment.

This comes on the heels of Target apologizing in late August for a Halloween circus clown costume that critics said appeared to conjure Blackface and 19th-century minstrel shows.

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/money/