Beachware Brand Decides To Put A Noose On A Shirt For Some Reason

A clothing brand supposedly inspired by " modern beach culture" looks like it took a time machine back to the Jim Crow South for a recent T-shirt design.

Tavik, a clothing and accessory company, caught serious heat on Monday when an offended T.J. Maxx customer tweeted a picture of a less-than-appropriate piece of merchandise.

You can't put a noose next to words that mean "relax." You just can't.

The shirt doesn't include an explicit reference to racially motivated lynching, but for a lot of people, the association is hard to miss. (Not that the other connotations of "noose" -- basically, suicide and capital punishment -- are all that great either.) Needless to say, more than a few people took offense to what looks like the juxtaposition of one of the darkest corners of America’s racial history with a nonchalant surfer saying.

Twitter erupted with bewildered, angry responses, and the criticism prompted an apology from Tavik, in what has become a familiar cycle of brands doing something racially tone-deaf and then being called out on it.

We are deeply sorry to anyone who may have been offended. The shirt is being pulled from stores immediately.

— TAVIK (@tavik) March 17, 2015

Tavik did not respond to a request for comment from The Huffington Post.

The company's apology didn’t stanch the outrage of some very offended people. Nor did T.J. Maxx make it through the Twittersphere unscathed.