(photo: Web)

Authorities in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province said on Sunday they will investigate Chinese clothing brand JNBY, after customers complained about disturbing and inappropriate designs on the company's children's clothing. 

Authorities have ordered JNBY, which is registered in Hangzhou, to pull its controversial children's clothes off the shelves, and has formed a team to investigate, according to a statement it released online on Sunday. 

"We will deal with the incident based on the results of the investigation and in accordance with the laws and regulations," the statement said.

Many Chinese netizens rejected JNBY's apology for the inappropriate and horrific prints on its children's clothing products. Examples include the phrases "Welcome to Hell" and "Let me touch you." 

(hyperlink: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202109/1234911.shtml)

Many of the messages printed on JNBY children's clothes were related to violence, heresy, racialism and sexual innuendo, customers and netizens found.

After customers complained about the hell-like patterns on the clothes they bought from "jnby by JNBY," the children's series under JNBY, the company apologized on social media on Thursday, saying it has removed the products from its website.

The apology was nonetheless rejected by many Chinese netizens, who exposed more of JNBY's inappropriate designs and phrases they found on children's clothes, urging the company to clearly explain its design concepts and intentions.

On Weibo, netizens posted photos of JNBY's designs under its apology post. Some of the photos featured disturbing phrases including "The whole place is full of Indians. I will take this gun and blown them to pieces," and the image of a red fruit and two birds placed between a woman's naked legs.

More photos of JNBY children's clothing spreading online sparked controversy over the weekend. One photo shows a girl wearing a dress with a picture of two naked people touching each other. Another shows prints of a Satan-like figure chopping a leg and a phrase "I just need a foot" alongside.

"As a mother of 5-year-old, I feel scared," one Weibo user wrote. "I can't imagine the company's intention in designing these clothes for kids. I'm worried it will mislead my daughter, so I will not go near that brand."

Shares in JNBY Design Ltd closed at HK$14.98 ($2.04) on Friday, a drop of 13.21 percent.

A document circulating online showed JNBY's co-founder and corporate juridical person Li Lin, who is in charge of the company's product designs, changed her nationality. The 2016 prospectus shows Li and her husband Wu Jian as citizens of Saint Kitts and Nevis. The authenticity of the document could not be verified. 

With 1,931 stores worldwide and 4.126 billion yuan ($638.70 million) of annual sales, JNBY has been frequently trapped in scandals. In February 2019, its sub-brand CROQUIS removed a bag collection for suspected plagiarism.