H&M Takes Action After Monkey Hoodie Controversy
The retail giant partners with a South African Marketing Team.
It has been two months since H&M released the now infamous “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle” hoodie, which caused controversy worldwide. Stores in South Africa had to close due to protests, and the retail giant issued several apologies after the great backlash.
Now, the Swedish label is taking action in order to make sure nothing like this could possibly happen again by collaborating with a South African marketing firm to work with them on gaining more awareness of its wrongdoings. The retailer has pledged to combat the issues with its advertising, with The Ahmed Kathrada Foundations (AKF) director Neeshan Bolton saying, ”They [H&M] admitted they were wrong and are trying to understand how to undo their mistake. Part of that engagement was because of the EFF demonstration. We had planned a demonstration after the EFF launched their protest, we could not proceed because we couldn’t match their scale.”
The retailer will be sending its marketing team to South Africa to learn about the issues firsthand and become aware of racial and cultural mishaps, with Neeshan stating:
“The H&M global human resources head and the transformation officer arrived in the country and agreed to work with the Institute of Justice and Reconciliation in Cape Town, and ensure that [the] South African management team and staff fully understand the complexity of race relations and racism in the country. We are mindful that had the EFF not done what they did, H&M would never have agreed to meet with the ARNSA.”
Make sure to keep checking back here as we follow the progression of the situation closely.
