Walmart removes 'KKK boots' from online store

BENTONVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Walmart has removed a listing from its online store after learning that a pair of men’s boots displayed the letters “KKK” on them.

According to a Walmart spokesperson, the “tactical military hiking boots” in question were listed by a third-party seller and removed on January 7, shortly after the Bentonville-based retailer became aware of them. A spokesperson for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a grassroots civil rights and advocacy group, contacted Walmart’s corporate offices to “respectfully ask that they be removed” after receiving a tip about the shoes by email.

A Walmart spokesperson provided the following statement when asked to comment on the situation:

This item was listed by an outside third-party seller and removed because the item is inconsistent with our values and violates Walmart’s prohibited product policy. Like other major retailers, we operate an online marketplace that allows third-party sellers to offer merchandise to customers through our eCommerce platform. We have a process in place designed to prevent third party sellers from offering inappropriate items on our platform.

Still, at times, inappropriate items make their way onto our platform. We are reviewing how this happened and will apply what we learn to further improve our rules and processes to prevent the sale of inappropriate merchandise.

Walmart spokesperson, January 9

Walmart has a “Prohibited Products Policy” for marketplace sellers that provides an overview of products and categories that cannot be listed there. The boots are no longer available on the Walmart website.

“We thank Walmart for dropping an online listing for oddly/poorly named ‘KKK’ boots after we brought this to their attention,” CAIR said in a press release. 

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