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Target apologizes for 'manatee' dress

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MINNEAPOLIS, April 5 (UPI) -- Minnesota-based chain Target apologized after a plus-sized dress was labeled "manatee gray," which the same dress in a regular size was "dark heather gray."

Susan Clemens, 49, of Orange County, Calif., said she was shocked to discover Target's website had the plus-sized dress labeled "manatee gray" while the regular size for the exact same color was described as "dark heather gray," ABC News blog reported Friday.

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"What the. Plus sized women get 'Manatee Grey' while standard sizes are 'Dark Heather Grey.' @Target #notbuyingit," Clemens posted Tuesday on her Twitter account.

The tweet went viral and was plastered across Twitter, Facebook and other sites during the ensuing 24 hours.

"A lot has happened in a day because it really resonates with people," she said. "I really didn't expect it to spread as widely as it has but people are tired of having the size and shape of their body commented on, and that's what this color discrepancy seems to imply."

Target spokeswoman Jessica Deede said "manatee gray" is a "seasonal color used across many different categories on Target.com" and was not meant as an insult to women wearing larger sizes. She said the color name differences came from different employees updating the website.

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"It was never our intention to offend our guests," Deede said. "We heard from our guest. We apologized and we are working to fix it ASAP."

"There were two different teams that worked on uploading the dresses to Target.com, which explains the discrepancy," she said.

Deede said the website will now simply use "gray" to describe inventory without getting more specific.

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