A mum was forced to double take after a fold in a kids jumper changed the family-friendly slogan 'kindness counts' into something else entirely.
Samantha Atkinson was shopping at Australian department store Kmart at the weekend when she spotted the bright yellow hoodie for girls and went in for a close look after thinking the clothing was branded with a swear word.
The mum-of-one from Perth was relieved to find on closer inspection that a fold had simply hidden one of the letters in the word 'counts', and she took the opportunity to snap a photo of the X-rated optical illusion and shared it online where it quickly went viral.
"My husband and I had popped into Kmart to pick up some baby clothes for my seven month old daughter," the 44-year-old explained. "I saw the hoodie and had to look twice. I actually walked back to take another look.
"I decided to snap a photo, and it was exactly as photographed. I didn't manipulate the clothing at all.
"I thought it was hilarious, although had to ask my husband if he saw what I did in case it didn't look that way to anyone else.
"We had only just come off having to wear masks so I wondered if it was a message to customers from a stressed out Kmart employee after the week of lockdown.
"I'm not sure if that was way they envisioned it would fall when hung up, especially in the kids section."
The photo was inundated with comments and likes from other parents on social media, as some said they had similar experiences after spotting the same jumper in the store.
The mum added: "I shared the photo with my friends and family, and had to apologise for the language as it isn't a word I'd normally use or the type of thing I'd send.
"The real message of 'kindness counts' is great and I would love my daughter to be able to wear it when she is older. The way it hung just changed the sentiment from 'Kindness Counts' to 'We Need Kindness Now!'
"Maybe it will inspire their next range though, as when I posted a photo of it there seemed to be plenty of people that would order one."
A spokesperson for Kmart said: "At Kmart, families are at the heart of everything we do and our in-house design team take great care designing positive and empowering sentiments for each style.
"It is disappointing to see our 'kindness counts' kids hoodie being photographed incorrectly and we can confirm none of these styles are produced in this way."
