SINGAPORE: Singapore homeware retailer Iuiga has apologised for naming a tea set after polar bear Inuka, who was put to sleep at the age of 27 on Wednesday (Apr 25).

Iuiga, which launched its online store last year, said in a Facebook post on Friday that all proceeds from its Inuka line of products will be donated to Polar Bears International, an organisation that does research on and advocates for the conservation of wild polar bears.





On Thursday, its Facebook post on its new line of Inuka crockery drew brickbats online from people who accused the company of profiting from the death of the first polar bear born in the tropics.



It read: "In honour of the joy and delight Inuka has brought us, we've decided to name our porcelain tea series after him.



"White, beautiful, and commanding a strong presence, the porcelain tea series will cement Inuka's legacy as the last Polar Bear in Singapore."

Many left comments on the post, calling it "distasteful", "insensitive", "a shameless marketing ploy" and even called for a boycott of the brand.

Facebook user Victor Chen said: "Either reconsider a) renaming the teapot or b) donating a portion of the sales to charity. Else whatever tea you brew with this pot will always be bitter."



Another comment by Siu Siu Lee read: "You should have honoured Inuka while he was alive. Now you are just shamelessly profiteering from his passing."



Less than 24 hours later, the company apologised.

"We heard you regarding our tribute to Inuka with our range of porcelain tea series. We understand that this is a sensitive issue, and IUIGA's goal was never to profit off animal welfare," its post on Friday said.

"However, the IUIGA team would like to sincerely apologise on the sensitive time period of the campaign launch, and for any upset the post has caused."

However, the backtrack did not seem to appease detractors who called it insincere and left more angry comments on the new post.

Channel NewsAsia has contacted Iuiga for its comments.