Coronavirus (COVID-19) is definitely a serious issue, but all over the world there have been different levels of sensationalist news and reactions to the outbreak that can only be described as ridiculous. Here in Japan, there’s been an ongoing reaction to the situation that has resulted in toilet paper and other daily necessities being sold out everywhere for the past week. Whenever a restock is on the horizon people line up, and it hasn’t really begun slowing down yet. Of course in situations like this, there’s a pretty logical conclusion to be met, and that’s the sale of these resources for an inflated price by opportunists. Mercari has been absolutely littered with resellers offloading toilet paper at absurd prices as a result.
All of this nonsense has inspired the designers at Japanese streetwear brand #FR2 to call out the bad behavior with a series of 3 new designs that very succinctly send the message that sensationalist news is not to be trusted.
Each design comes in multiple colors and will be produced and shipped in early April. Thankfully if you’re into the designs and want to grab them for yourself, they’re available with international shipping on the #FR2 web store. Of course, the Coronavirus is a serious situation, but diffusing the panic in a humorous manner like this while hopefully sending a message that people actually pay attention to is smart. The only real issue I see with these designs is that once the pandemic is over the shelf-life of the shirts is pretty much up, but honestly, that’s a pretty good trade-off for the overall health of people.
Regardless of what you think about the shirts themselves, don’t panic, and wash your hands regularly!