- Swedish clothing giant H&M has announced a recall of a line of children’s socks
- They show a figure with pattern ‘resembling Allah written in Arabic upside-down’
- H&M insists pattern is ‘entirely a coincidence’ but removed them after compaints
- Comes weeks after its ad showing a black child model wearing a top reading ‘coolest monkey in the jungle’ sparked fury around the world
H&M has removed a range of socks because a pattern on them ‘resembles Allah written in Arabic upside-down’.
The Swedish clothing giant has announced a recall of socks which also showed a Lego workman figure holding a jackhammer.
H&M has insisted that while the pattern ‘looks like “Allah” in Arabic’, it is ‘entirely a coincidence’.
It comes just weeks after the low-cost fashion brand was accused of racism over an ad showing a black child dressed in a hoodie reading ‘coolest monkey in the jungle.’
H&M has removed a range of socks because a pattern on them ‘resembles Allah written in Arabic upside-down’
Composite pictures have appeared online showing the socks alongside an example of Allah written in Arabic
The Swedish clothing giant has announced a recall of socks showing what appeared to be Arabic script alongside a Lego workman figure holding a jackhammer
In the latest controversy, H&M said they had removed the socks following complaints from shoppers,
According to Swedish state radio SVT, Petra Buchinger, a press officer at H&M said: ‘The print on the sock depicting a Lego figure, which looks like “Allah” in Arabic, is entirely a coincidence, but because our customers have complained, we have chosen to recall the items.’
It added on a social media post that the firm constantly reviews its range.
Earlier this month, H&M said they had appointed a diversity leader after the storm over an advert showing a black child model in jumper emblazoned with the words ‘coolest monkey in the jungle’ .
H&M came under fire earlier this month over an ad featuring a black child model wearing a jumper emblazoned with ‘Coolest Monkey in the Jungle’
NBA star LeBron James and rapper Diddy were among stars left outraged over the ad.
The retailer apologised and removed the image, but not before the ad was widely criticised, with some branding it racist.
At the time, he Stockholm-based company said ‘the recent incident was entirely unintentional’ but ‘demonstrates so clearly how big our responsibility is as a global brand’.