Yeah, last time this came up, it's what I was thinking too. The outfit was always referred to previously (i.e. 1990's, early 2000's) as "Leia as Jabba's Prisoner" - that's what both Hasbro scales called it on the packaging (Unleashed just called her "Leia.") And yes, she's never referred to as a slave in the movie, so no problem there.
Then in the mid to late 2000's, the name "slave" seemed to creep in, maybe through fan shorthand via those popular SDCC "Slave Leia" group shots, and Hasbro then decided to follow suit, maybe wanting to give it some edge - several versions, up to the 6" version were all suddenly called "slave" Leias on the package.
The word "slave" has become increasingly hot button so it's possible the Disney red flag started with the use of that word, but then they realized there's actually a further problem.
The core of this banning story revolves around a Dark Horse artist stating they couldn't draw her in that outfit in comics anymore. To me, Disney banning it in that format actually makes total sense because those guys often take things way too far in the depiction - in essence, Disney is banning "artistic interpretation" of the costume by doing that. Even some statues, again artistic interpretation, are more suggestive than they need to be - i.e. they don't depict her as she's seen in ROTJ, but ROTJ crossed with a soft core movie.
My guess is they are banning anything that through artistic interpretation can be too racy such as comics, statues or even adult costumes, as well as the use of the word "slave", in lieu of products showing her simply as she appeared in the movie.
Bottom line is, she's heroic, kicks **s and kills the bad guy in that costume. She doesn't roll around on a bed or do harem dances (though Oola does.) There's nothing "Disney non-friendly" about anything in the actual movie, so it makes no sense they would ban accurate depictions of her in that outfit. Which is what a 1/6 or 4" figure would do.
