Retail clothing brand H&M is dealing with a major PR nightmare with people outraged over a particular kiddies hoodie.
Some have branded the retailer as ‘racist’ after a green jumper had the phrase, ‘Coolest Monkey In The Jungle’ written across the front and a black child wearing it.
While the mother of the kid told people to ‘get over it’, it hasn’t stopped people across the world calling H&M all sorts of names.
People in South Africa though have taken their outrage a step further and have absolutely trashed at least four H&M stores.
Bystanders and shoppers reportedly ran from the outlet as the protestors gathered, with some wearing red t-shirts. In videos posted across social media, some are seen pulling down racks and tearing clothes from their shelves and throwing them on the ground.
One person wrote on Twitter: “Racism must fall and we will never tip toe around racists.”
The affected stores have reportedly closed until further notice.
In an attempt to calm the backlash, H&M obviously took down the hoodie advertisement that started this whole mess, but that hasn’t stopped celebs likee singer The Weeknd from cutting ties with the label.
Rapper P Diddy even offered the kid at the centre of the scandal a $1 million (£730,000) modelling contract for his brand, Sean John.
H&M hasn’t had the best experience in Africa in the last two years since its first store opened on the continent.
They was accused of having a lack of diversity, with virtually all the models used for their advertisements being white.
@hmsouthafrica I was at your CT store.Most, if not all your posters in store have no black models.Please work on that to appeal to everyone.
– Tlalane (@TlalaneLetlhaku) November 2, 2015
When someone on social media called H&M out on the issue, they responded with:
“H&M’s marketing has a major impact and it is essential for us to convey a positive image. We want our marketing to show our fashion in an inspiring way, to convey a positive feeling.
“Our marketing policy, campaign productions and work is something we constantly discuss internally and with creative professionals. We work with a wide range of models and personalities throughout all our marketing both online, outdoor and in store.”
People were compleletly confused about the ‘positive image’ remark, asking H&M if they thought black people conveyed a different message.