H&M Is In Hot Water Again Over Cultural Misappropriation

Less than one month after H&M apologised for an image of a black child modelling a hoodie with the slogan “coolest monkey in the jungle”, the Swedish retailer has been called out for ill-use of imagery again.

The high-street giant has been forced to recall a range of socks with a pattern that appeared to resemble the word Allah written in Arabic. The illustration was, according to H&M, intended to be a Lego figurine holding a jackhammer, but, when turned upside down, it bore resemblance to the language.

“At H&M we always aim to offer products that we believe our customers will appreciate," a spokesperson said of the decision to remove the socks from sale. "The print on this sock represents a Lego figurine, any other meaning is entirely coincidental and we apologise if this motif has offended anyone.”

Following the controversial image of the child wearing the hoodie, which sparked a frenzy of Tweets from high-profile figures branding it as “offensive”, “irresponsible” and “racist”, and The Weeknd to cut ties with the label, H&M hired a diversity leader. The retail giant hoped that the move would publicly pledge its “commitment to addressing diversity and inclusiveness” and keep the company clear of further accusations of racism.