Chia Obama headed back to shelves

CHICAGO, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- The makers of a Chia pottery plant kit modeled after Barack Obama said the items, which have been in Chicago warehouses since April, are headed back to stores.

Joseph Enterprises Inc. of San Francisco said the pottery plant kits, which are modeled after the U.S. president's head and sprout green plants in the place of hair, were pulled from the shelves by Walgreens in April due to fears they could be seen as offensive, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Monday.

"Everybody was afraid that it might be considered racist," company president Joseph Pedott said.

However, Pedott said the remaining 500,000 Chia Obamas, which are being stored in four Chicago-area warehouses, are bound for Walgreens competitor CVS.

Pedott said he was inspired to bring the products back after a free sample he presented to Obama was warmly received.

"I presented it to him (at a reception after his commencement address at Notre Dame), and he said, 'Gee, I've got green hair,'" he said. "Everybody laughed. I was on Cloud Nine."