New York CNN –
When a Target retailer reached out to Erik Carnell last year about potentially listing his brand of ricochet in Target stores, he was thrilled.
It was “the greatest opportunity of my career,” Carnell told CNN. “I was excited to be able to share my stuff with a whole new market.” Described on its Instagram page as “art and accessories for the proud, loud and colourful,” the London-based company rebounds developed evolved from a small startup to a brand available at a major US retailer.
In the months that followed, Carnell suggested Target and developed designs that would be fit for the big store, he said. Ultimately, Target began selling three bounce adult items: a sweatshirt, a tote, and a shoulder bag, each branded with a different slogan.
But then things collapsed. About a week and a half ago, Carnell said he began receiving hundreds of hateful messages, including death treats. Some of them incorrectly said the collection would be marketed to children, while others took issue with Target over its Pride offerings.
Target had withdrawn bounce items from its US stores and online markets by Wednesday, Portal reported.
Seth Little/AP
Pride month merchandise is on display in front of a Target store in Hackensack, New Jersey on Wednesday, May 24, 2023.
“Since the launch of this year’s collection, we have experienced threats that impact the sense of security and well-being of our team members at work,” Target said in a statement accompanying this year’s Pride collection.
“Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing elements that have been the focus of the most significant confrontational behavior,” Target said.
Carnell’s immediate reaction was relief.
“The backlash I got was overwhelming,” he said. “I just hope this is the beginning of the end of the news and rush I’m getting.”
But for a small brand, losing access to Target’s massive reach is a blow.
“When this is all over I will be incredibly disappointed that such a great opportunity has been taken away from me.”
But Carnell understands Target’s decision regarding his line.
“I don’t know what could be done to protect retail workers other than pull it back,” he said. “Your safety must be the number one priority.”
Still, Carnell is disappointed that Target hasn’t been more open with him about the decision. Although he heard from a distributor he worked with, he hadn’t received any word from corporate headquarters, he said.
Target did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this story.
Bounce grew out of Carnell’s affinity for drawing and a desire to connect with his queer community.
“I created some pins about six years ago and they’ve grown ever since,” he said. For Carnell, work is personal.
“I take what I do incredibly seriously,” he said. “I owe it to my younger self, who was so lost and in so much pain… I owe it to him to create things to be proud of, things to tell him he’s not wrong.” “What he is is wonderful,” he said.
When Carnell, who is trans, thinks about his younger self, he recalls a time “when I was a kid and I was desperately wishing I was a boy and I didn’t know there was a way I could do that. Carnell knows his experience was not isolated. “There are so many people like him,” he said, referring to his younger self.
Courtesy of Erik Carnell
Erik Carnell in Bounce products designed for Target.
With Bounce, Carnell wanted to create Pride items that were more than “just a rainbow haphazardly slapping a t-shirt.”
Rebound sells shirts, intricate pins, and other accessories that combine pastel blues, pinks, and purples with skulls, skeletons, and UFOs. The images are paired with various phrases, such as “transphobia sucks” and “gay icon.” Some have spoken directly to specific incidents, such as “Witches and wizards love trans people,” a response to Harry Potter author JK Rowling’s heavily criticized comments about trans people.
But one draft caused an uproar online.
Backlash against Carnell and Rebound has largely focused on a draft that says, “Satan respects pronouns.” Online called for an anti-LGBTQ campaign to boycott Target and featured images of the phrase on a Rebound T-shirt. A video circulated on TikTok asking a staff member if she supported “satanic Pride propaganda.” Carnell has been labeled a Satanist in the right-wing press.
But this particular design was never available from Target.
In early discussions, the retailer told Carnell that the “Satan respects pronouns” design wouldn’t fit well, he said. The designs that ended up being up for sale are in a more neutral tone and carry the phrases “Heal transphobia, not trans people”, “We belong everywhere” and “Too queer for here”.
Still, Carnell wasn’t surprised when the partnership drew backlash (although he didn’t expect it to be that bad).
“I’m not naive. I absolutely knew that negativity would come my way,” he said. “I understand that people have an incredibly passionate hatred towards LGBT people. And the current political climate shows these people that they are right when they think that way,” he said.
Courtesy of Erik Carnell
Another bounce product for Target.
On twitter, described right-wing commentator Matt Walsh a targeted campaign that goes beyond bouncing or carnell. “The goal is to make ‘pride’ toxic for brands,” he said. “If they decide to shove this garbage in our faces, they should know there will be a price to pay. It won’t be worth what they think they’re gaining.”
The malicious language and threats reported by Target come at a time when transgender rights are under attack in the United States. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, as of April 3 this year, more than 400 anti-LGBTQ laws have been introduced in state legislatures, including those restricting transgender youth’s access to gender-based services. According to a study by the UCLA School of Law, transgender people are more than four times more likely to be victims of violent crime than cisgender people.
For direct-to-consumer brands, partnering with a major retailer is often “the holy grail,” said Ian Schatzberg, co-founder of brand agency General Idea, which works with brands big and small. “It’s very expensive to run a DTC business,” he said. “The role that the retailer plays in the life of these brands is really critical to their success.”
Generally, “if they lose distribution, they could lose their business,” Schatzberg said, adding that large retailers are “vital” to small online brands.
For LGBTQ+ brands, retail shelf space is “a source of financial livelihood, but also of pride and visibility,” said Schatzberg. General Idea is an LGBTQ company, he noted. “If you are removed, it will not only impact the business owner, but the community as well.”
Before Target, Carnell, who runs Bounce himself, sold Bounce products online as well as in some markets and to some wholesale customers, he said.
A positive aspect of the attention was the increase in financial and emotional support. The bouncing site has received so many orders that it has temporarily closed the virtual store to catch up.
“I’ve been inundated with support,” he said, including “so many beautiful, compassionate, loving messages,” he said. “And when I’m in better headroom, I know how much that’s going to have a positive impact on me.”