A retailer has finally pulled a weight-loss ‘countdown calendar’ in the shape of a bikini and a wedding dress from the shelves after complaints about body shaming.
The wooden wall plaques are designed to hold one English pound ($1.19) for every pound of weight lost by the purchaser – with the bikini version encouraging women to lose up to 23 pounds.
The Range — a retailer based in Plymouth, England — advertised it as a “fun and unique way to save money and get fit” which allowed purchasers to “save money and lose weight.”
The wedding dress model meanwhile encourages women to lose up to 40 pounds.
Complaints about the product have gone on for months after women took to social media last October to complain about the ‘weight anxiety inducing’ product.
The removal follows a new bout of complaints on social media spearheaded by @brummymummyof2, Emma Conway.
Posting on Instagram, Emma wrote that she left the store ‘shaking’ and asked if there was a similar product for men – there wasn’t.
She wrote to her nearly 150,000 followers: “Dear @therangeuk. I just popped into one of your shops as I love your garden stuff. And was excited to get some bits and bobs.
“Imagine my shock when I saw two signs. One saying ‘Countdown To My Bikini Body’ and the other stating ‘It Could Only Take 10lbs To Drop A Dress Size’.
“Now I understand people want to lose weight for a variety of reasons. Not an issue. But I asked if there was one for men. Maybe a ‘Lose Chunk To Fit In Your Trunks’.
“There wasn’t. It was just for WOMEN. To get a bikini body. And to fit in a smaller wedding dress.
“I left the shop shaking. In 2022. A large chain. Is feeding into the narrative that WOMEN need to be smaller.
“To drop a dress size. To put a sign in their houses which they would look at each day. To help them get ready to go to the beach.
“The motivation is not to get fit and healthy. But to shrink themselves. Remember ladies we need to be tiny.
“I know some people may not see a problem. And The Range obviously doesn’t. But anyone reading this remember how to get a bikini body is to…buy a bikini. And put it on your body.”
The post attracted more than 10,000 likes and hundreds of replies.
Last year eating disorder charity Beat raised concern about the product – saying that it and similar products can ‘glamorize’ dangerous weight loss or eating disorders.
Tom Quinn, director of external affairs at Beat, said: “We know that idealizing thinness can be very damaging for people with or vulnerable to eating disorders, as it can encourage or serve as ‘inspiration’ for harmful eating disorder behaviors.
“Whilst pressure to reach body ideals like the ‘bikini body’ are unlikely to be the sole cause of an eating disorder, it can be extremely unhelpful to people in recovery.
“Pressure to reach ‘goal weights’ can also cause distress and shame around body image, or even lead to an eating disorder developing.”
The product has now been discontinued by The Range.
The retailer have said in a statement they had not ‘set out to offend customers’ and would not be bringing back the product.
Produced in association with SWNS.
