Arabic version: بانينغز تزيل زيّ قميص التقييد الخاص بعيد الهالوين

According to ABC News, Bunnings has removed a straitjacket Halloween costume from its online marketplace after mental health organisation SANE Australia criticised the product as offensive and stigmatising.

The listing featured a straitjacket with arm ties and the words “Property of the county mental institution — approach with caution!” printed on its back. A Bunnings spokesperson said the company understood the concerns raised and removed the item once the listing was brought to its attention.

SANE Australia chief executive Rachel Green said corporations should not publicly support mental health causes while profiting from products that reinforce stigma. She said the community needed to stop overlooking such tropes, comparing the costume’s acceptability with the idea of a cancer patient costume.

SANE ambassador and author Sandy Jeffs, who lives with schizophrenia and was a patient at Melbourne’s former Larundel Psychiatric Hospital, described the costumes as insulting and “downright mad-shaming”. She said negative portrayals involving straitjackets demonised and shamed people with mental illness.

The same costume was available through Kmart, Dick Smith, Amazon and smaller costume stores, while Spotlight’s website still listed it on Saturday. SANE said a 2024 social media campaign led Big W to remove Halloween costumes from sale, and Ms Green said Spotlight had previously pulled the costume before making it available again. ABC News said it contacted Wesfarmers and Spotlight for comment.