Bunnings removed a Halloween straitjacket costume from its online marketplace after mental health advocates criticized it as stigmatizing, with similar products still available on retailers like Kmart, Amazon, and Dick Smith, according to ABC News Australia.
Bunnings has removed a straitjacket costume from its online marketplace following criticism from mental health advocates, who argue such Halloween outfits perpetuate harmful stereotypes about people with mental illness. The costume, featuring the phrase Property of the county mental institution — approach with caution!
on the back, was taken down after SANE Australia, a non-profit organization for people with complex mental health issues, called for retailers to stop profiting from stigmatizing products, as reported by ABC News Australia.
SANE Australia’s Criticism and Calls for Action
SANE Australia CEO Rachel Green condemned the sale of the costume, stating, Straitjackets are archaic, offensive and stigmatising. This can deepen discrimination and make it harder for people to seek the support they need.
Green emphasized that such products reinforce outdated tropes, adding, No one would expect to see for sale a cancer patient costume for Halloween. Why is the mental illness patient costume acceptable?
She also noted that Spotlight had removed similar costumes in 2024 but later reinstated them, according to 7NEWS.
Bunnings shelves Halloween straightjacket costume after criticism https://t.co/SzLReiOWWh
Sandy Jeffs, a SANE ambassador and author living with schizophrenia, described the costumes as “mad shaming,” saying they reproduce negative stereotypes and turn people with mental health issues into objects of ridicule.
Jeffs, who was a patient at Melbourne’s former Larundel Psychiatric Hospital, argued that the portrayal of mental illness as dangerous or comical is misleading. Most of us are very ordinary people. Most of us are not mass murderers or mad geniuses. Just very ordinary people living with a very extraordinary illness,
she said.
Retailer Responses and Ongoing Availability
Bunnings confirmed the item was removed after concerns were raised, stating, We understand the concerns raised, and once the listing was brought to our attention, it was removed from Bunnings Marketplace.
However, the same costume remains available on Kmart, Amazon, Dick Smith, and several smaller costume shops, according to ABC News Australia. SANE Australia has previously pressured retailers to remove similar products, including in 2024 when a social media campaign led Big W to pull the item from sale, as noted by 7NEWS.
Rachel Green expressed frustration that the issue resurfaced, saying, I don’t want to be here again next year making the same post.
She urged retailers to take greater responsibility for the products they approve for sale, noting that madness is not a joke. My mad comrades are not jokes.
ABC News Australia also contacted Wesfarmers and Spotlight for comment on the matter.
Broader Implications and Advocacy Efforts
SANE Australia has long criticized the use of mental health-related costumes, arguing that they contribute to the marginalization of people with mental illnesses. The organization’s campaign against the straitjacket costume aligns with broader efforts to challenge stigma in media and popular culture. Jeffs emphasized that such portrayals risk reinforcing misconceptions, saying, It’s a very lazy trope
to depict mental illness as something to be feared or laughed at.
Bunnings has pulled a controversial Halloween costume from sale after mental health advocates slammed major Australian retailers for selling outfits they say mock people with mental illnesses. https://t.co/MT54grpxbD
The controversy highlights ongoing debates about the appropriateness of Halloween costumes that mock marginalized groups. SANE Australia has called on retailers to consider the impact of their product choices, particularly if they also support mental health initiatives. It does matter for the family who've got a 25-year-old who's got early signs of psychosis and is really struggling and needs to have that support wrapped around them,
Green said.
SANE Australia continues to advocate for more responsible representation, urging businesses to align their practices with their public support for mental health causes.
