People are freaked out because they keep finding 'help me' messages under the cap of this popular beverage
The message reads, "HELP ME TRAPPED IN SOBE FACTORY." Concerned customers have been posting images of the caps to SoBe's Facebook page.
But it turns out that there's no reason for concern. SoBe printed the messages on its caps, thinking the call for help would give customers "a little smile or pause for thought."
The beverage brand, which is owned by Pepsi, apologized for the messages in a statement posted to its Facebook page.
"We are planning on removing this cap slogan from our current rotation, however, it will take a while for existing stock to run through the market," the company said.
The New York Times later identified the man who wrote the letter. He told the Times that he was imprisoned in a labor camp where "inmates toiled seven days a week, their 15-hour days haunted by sadistic guards."
BuzzFeed also points out that there are cases of factory abuses in the US, as well.
Some employees in the manufacturing industry in the US work 12-hour days, seven days a week, according to the Trafficking Resource Center.