A listing posted on H&M’s online shopping site is sparking outrage online over its racist messaging.
It shows a young black boy wearing a green hoodie with the words “coolest monkey in the jungle” printed in big, bold letters.
As of Sunday night, the item was still available on the European edition of H&M's shopping site. The listing was featured alongside two other separate hoodies — both of which were worn by young white boys — that came with similar jungle themes yet no such harmful racial connotations.
Images of the listing surfaced on social media Sunday after users shared screenshots online in posts expressing their outrage over the listing. Among them was CNN political commentator Angela Rye who posted the image on her Instagram page and called for a boycott against H&M.
"We understand that many people are upset about the image," a rep from H&M told Blavity. "We, who work at H&M, can only agree. We are deeply sorry that the picture was taken, and we also regret the actual print. Therefore, we have not only removed the image from our channels, but also the garment from our product offering globally. It is obvious that our routines have not been followed properly. This is without any doubt. We will thoroughly investigate why this happened to prevent this type of mistake from happening again."
