Michael Nagle/Getty Trader Joe's released a statement saying that it disagrees that its branding is "racist," backtracking from an earlier statement. A petition started by a high school senior calling on Trader Joe's to change names like "Trader Ming's" and "Trader José." The petition said that these names perpetuate harmful racial stereotypes. In an earlier statement responding to the petition, a Trader Joe's spokesperson said, "While this approach to product naming may have been rooted in a lighthearted attempt at inclusiveness, we recognize that it may now have the opposite effect." However, the company's new statement says that "we disagree that any of these labels are racist," and declares that the company will not make any changes because of the petition. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Trader Joe's says it disagrees that brands like Trader Ming's and Arabian Joe's are racist, the company announced in a July 24 statement. "We want to be clear: we disagree that any of these labels are racist," the statement reads.