Bunnings pulls straitjacket Halloween costume after mental health groups call out stigma

A straitjacket costume was listed on Bunnings Marketplace this Halloween season, complete with arm ties and a line printed across the back: "Property of the county mental institution — approach with caution!" It is no longer there. Bunnings took the listing down after mental health advocates objected to outfits that cast people with mental illness as "insane".

When the ABC contacted the company, a spokesperson said the item had been removed from sale. The spokesperson said Bunnings understood the concerns raised, and that once the listing was brought to its attention, it came off the Marketplace.

The objection came from SANE Australia, a non-profit that supports people with complex mental health issues. Its position is that corporations should not publicly back mental health causes while profiting from products that reinforce stigma. CEO Rachel Green told ABC Victoria Statewide Drive that the time had come to stop turning a blind eye to these kinds of tropes in the community.

Sandy Jeffs, a SANE ambassador and author, put the objection in more personal terms. She lives with schizophrenia and was once a patient at Melbourne's former Larundel Psychiatric Hospital. She called the costumes insulting and "downright mad-shaming". Halloween, she said, is fun for people, but it goes into a dark place when it introduces negative tropes such as straitjackets as costumes. In her view, such outfits are there to laugh at and make fun of, and to demonise a whole group of people who do not deserve to be demonised, laughed at or shamed.

Bunnings is not the only seller. The same costume is available at Kmart, which is owned by Wesfarmers, as is Bunnings. It is also sold at Dick Smith, on Amazon and through a number of smaller costume stores. The ABC has contacted Wesfarmers for comment.

This is not the first time SANE has taken on costume sellers. The organisation says a social media campaign in 2024 led Big W to remove Halloween costumes from sale. Ms Green said Spotlight was among the retailers that quickly pulled the costume at that time, but has since made it available again. The ABC has also contacted Spotlight for comment.

Ms Green argued that the stakes are real for families. She pointed to a family with a 25-year-old showing early signs of psychosis, who is struggling and needs support wrapped around them. She asked how that young person would feel with people walking around on Saturday in a costume that caricatures a bygone era.

What happens next depends on the other retailers. Wesfarmers and Spotlight have not yet responded to the ABC, and the costume remains on sale at several other outlets, so further decisions may follow.