Target to Stop Selling Shirt Claimed by Designer as Copycat

Target said Thursday it would no longer sell a shirt that an Oregon-based designer said was identical to one that she had designed.

The retailer said in a statement that it was “concerned” when the closeness in style of the two shirts was brought to its attention. “We’ve been in contact with the vendor that produced this tee,” Target said. “We’ve also reached out directly to the designer.”

An image of the black tee, which features “#Merica” where the stars would normally appear on the American flag, went viral this week after the designer posted an image of herself wearing her own design while holding Target’s version.

Melissa Lay had distributed the design via her SandiLake Clothing company; she sells her products through Etsy. Lay told ABC News on Thursday she was pleased with Target’s decision, saying, “I’m just really happy that that was their decision and that was exactly what I was hoping would happen.”

[ABC News]