Target’s Pride collection features ‘tuck

Jul 15, 2023

CLAIM: Target's Pride collection features a bathing suit for kids that is labeled "tuck-friendly."

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The "tuck-friendly" swimsuits are only offered in adult sizes, according to a spokesperson for the company and Target's website. Kids’ swimsuits in the collection do not feature this label.

THE FACTS: Target's seasonal collection of clothes for Pride month collection has been the subject of several misleading videos in recent weeks, with social media users claiming the retailer is selling "tuck-friendly" bathing suits designed for kids or in kids’ sizes.

Many of the posts criticizing Target have also urged people to boycott the company, following similar threats and transphobic commentary from conservative social media personalities towards brands including Bud Light and Nike over promotional campaigns featuring transgender people.

Posts criticizing Target shared photos or videos of either a one-piece swimsuit with a bright pink, orange, green and blue colorblock pattern, or black swim bottoms with colorful line stitches. Both feature a circular tag that reads, "Tuck-Friendly Construction," and "Extra Crotch Coverage."

"Did you know @Target also sells ‘tuck-friendly’ bathing suits for children in the Pride section? Well now you do," reads one post sharing a photo of the tag on Twitter. The post has received more than 4,000 likes.

Another video on Instagram, which had more than 100,000 likes as of Monday, shows footage of the tag on the one-piece swimsuit, and claims that while it is not specifically in the kids’ section, it is available in kids’ sizes.

However, the swimsuits labeled "tuck-friendly" are only in adult sizes, and are not available in kids’ sizes, Kayla Castaneda, a spokesperson for Target, told The Associated Press.

Both the colorful one-piece and black swim bottoms seen in the photos and videos online are clearly labeled on Target's website as adult swimsuits. Both pages list the products as coming in "general adult sizing" and offer adult XS as the smallest size for sale.

"The ‘tuck-friendly’ swim suits are for adults only," Castaneda said. The kids’ swimsuits in the Pride collection are not the same design or construction and do not have the same label, Castaneda confirmed.

At a Target in New York City's downtown Brooklyn neighborhood that the AP visited on Monday, the same adult swimsuits shown on social media featured the "tuck-friendly" tag, while a kids’ black swimskirt for sale instead had a tag reading: "Thoughtfully Fit on Multiple Body Types and Gender Expressions."

The Pride apparel for kids, adults and pets was located together at the front of the store, in an area often used for seasonal or limited-edition collections, and not in the children's section.

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This is part of AP's effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.