{"id":668066,"date":"2026-11-03T00:01:21","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T04:01:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/?p=668066"},"modified":"2026-11-03T16:33:53","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T20:33:53","slug":"after-hindu-protest-global-fashion-brand-zara-apologizes-renames-its-cow-leather-yoga-mat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/668066\/","title":{"rendered":"After Hindu protest, global fashion brand Zara apologizes &#038; renames its cow leather yoga mat"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-668069 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Zara.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"182\" \/>Zara, one of the world&#8217;s biggest and most influential international fashion retailers, owned by Spanish fashion group Inditex, has apologized and renamed its cow leather yoga mat; which protesting Hindus called \u201chighly inappropriate\u201d.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Inditex Communication &amp; Corporate Affairs, in an email to distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, who spearheaded the protest, wrote: \u201cWe apologize for the misunderstanding. This was certainly not our intention. At Zara and Inditex, we are committed to treating all people, beliefs and cultures with respect.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>This mat made from cow leather, priced at $399, which was \u201cFOLDABLE LEATHER YOGA MAT\u201d before the Hindu protest, is now \u201cFOLDABLE LEATHER GYM MAT\u201d.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, thanked Inditex and Zara for understanding the concerns of Hindu community, which thought that such a product was insensitive.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Rajan Zed suggested that companies should send their senior executives for training in religious and cultural sensitivity so that they understood the feelings of customers and communities when introducing new products or launching advertising campaigns.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Rajan Zed had earlier said that this Zara \u201cfoldable leather yoga mat\u201d seemed ridiculing and offending two serious concepts of Hinduism\u2014cow and yoga\u2014and was hugely insensitive to Hindu feelings.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Scenario of yoga (profound, sacred and ancient discipline; introduced and nourished by Hinduism) being performed on a mat made from a slaughtered cow (the seat of many deities, which was sacred and had long been venerated in Hinduism) was painful to Hindu sentiments; Zed had indicated.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Inditex, which claims \u201cleverage the power of fashion to create positive change in the lives of people, societies and culture at large\u201d, should not be in the business of religious appropriation, sacrilege, mocking serious spiritual practices and ridiculing entire communities; Rajan Zed had noted.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Zed had also urged Inditex, its CEO \u00d3scar Garc\u00eda Maceiras, and its Board of Directors Chair Marta Ortega P\u00e9rez, to be serious about its claim of \u201cfashion that moves the world forward\u2014through the most inspiring experience\u201d.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Profit should never come at the cost of religious dignity. Global corporations should exercise cultural and religious sensitivity and recognize that respect for the sacred beliefs of millions was far more valuable than any fashion statement; Rajan Zed had said and added that faith was not a fashion accessory.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about 1.3 billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought, and it should not be taken frivolously. Practices\/concepts\/traditions of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be ridiculed at; Zed had stated.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Yoga, which found reference in world\u2019s oldest extant scripture <i>Rig-Veda<\/i> and other early Hindu texts, was considered union with God, one of the six systems of Hindu philosophy, and a means for transforming consciousness and purification of the Self and attaining liberation. It involved withdrawal and its objective was the state of blissful liberation; Rajan Zed had pointed out.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Inditex, whose history goes back to 1963, headquartered in Arteixo (Galicia), is one of the world&#8217;s largest clothing retail groups which reportedly operates in about 214 markets worldwide with 5,460 stores and has a major online global presence. \u201cThe customer is at the heart of our unique business model\u201d, it states.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Zara, one of the world&#8217;s biggest and most influential international fashion retailers, owned by Spanish fashion group Inditex, has apologized and renamed its cow leather yoga mat; which protesting Hindus called \u201chighly inappropriate\u201d. Inditex Communication &amp; Corporate Affairs, in an email to distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, who spearheaded the protest, wrote: \u201cWe apologize for the misunderstanding. This was certainly not our intention. At Zara and Inditex, we are committed to treating all people, beliefs and cultures with respect.\u201d This mat made from cow leather, priced at $399, which was&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":668069,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47748],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-668066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=668066"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668066\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":668070,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668066\/revisions\/668070"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/668069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=668066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=668066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=668066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}