'We have got this wrong and we are deeply sorry,' a message on its South African website says. H&M said it had removed the sweatshirt from sale. All rational people should agree that the store should not be allowed to continue operating in South Africa.' Shivambu said H&M's 'nonsense of a clothing store is now facing consequences for its racism. The outrage stemmed from an ad released by H&M showing a black boy wear a green sweater with the slogan 'coolest monkey in the jungle' on it. The store has remained closed since then.Īccording to local media, similar protests were seen in other shopping centers.ĮFF Deputy President Floyd Shivambu congratulated members via Twitter for physically confronting racism.

Critics said the ad trivialized the protest movement and the killings of black people by the police.JOHANNESBURG - An H&M store in South Africa was trashed by protesters on Saturday after the company was accused of racism in a sweater advertisement.ĭozens of Economic Freedom Fighters protesters rushed into the store in Sandton City, one of the most prosperous shopping centers in Johannesburg, vandalizing mannequins and scattering clothes on the floor.Īfter police arrived, protesters gathered in front of the shop's door chanting, dancing and whistling, according to a Xinhua News Agency reporter at the scene. That same week, Pepsi apologized for a television commercial featuring Kendall Jenner that was criticized for borrowing imagery from the Black Lives Matter movement. In April, the skin care brand Nivea pulled an ad that used the slogan “white is purity” after it was accused of racial insensitivity (and celebrated by white supremacists.) In a statement at the time, Dove said it was “committed to representing the beauty of diversity” but had “missed the mark” with its ad, which was removed from Facebook. The ad was criticized for employing a racist trope that black people could use soap to clean themselves into white people. In October, Dove, the soap company owned by Unilever, apologized for a Facebook ad that showed a black woman removing her brown shirt to reveal a smiling white woman in a crisp white shirt underneath. But mistakes like this happen in the world of advertising with some regularity.

H and m sweater ad