H&M has been forced to apologise and remove an image of a black child wearing a hoodie with the word "monkey" on it from its website after customers called for a boycott.
The fashion retailer used the image of the child modelling a jumper with the slogan "coolest monkey in the jungle" on its websites in the UK and US.
Several customers tweeted to say the company had "missed the mark" and called the choice "racist" and "irresponsible".
Others called for a boycott of the company, while some questioned who had signed off on the idea, pointing out that comparing black people to monkeys has long been used as a racial slur.
Can’t be more confused and disgusted. H&M decided to put the black boy in a “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle” hoody an… https://t.co/mlCxFbqpai
A multi billion dollar company thinks it's okay to put a young brown boy in a #coolestmonkeyinthejungle hoodie? I s… https://t.co/2HYencopFB
BOYCOTT @hm! Whose with me? @hmusa What universe do you live in that makes it okay to flaunt your racist ways in su… https://t.co/nKSMgmB6U0
So the black kid gets to wear the H&M sweater with "Coolest monkey in the jungle" and the white kid with "Survival… https://t.co/mRsv072KBq
@_Rock718 They had the option of two other hoodies in that collection but they decided to go with one that labellin… https://t.co/FtqvtEX6TK
Really H&M?! As a faithful customer I am absolutely disgusted. How insensitive and out of touch with reality can yo… https://t.co/u317wPw968
H&M has disgusted me officially @hm how dare you.
H&M PROVES TO THE WORLD THAT THEY ARE RACIST...DONT SCREAM BLACK LIVES MATTER ...LETS SHOW THEM HOW BLACK DOLLARS M… https://t.co/EHv1Yya19q
H&M has since changed the advert to feature only a jumper without anyone wearing it. However, accusations followed that the response came too late, with others calling the apology "empty".
More love, less hate. It’s a shame that the team of producers and creative directors at H&M saw nothing wrong with… https://t.co/DEv41KIWau
An H&M spokesperson told BuzzFeed News in a statement: "This image has been removed from all H&M channels and we sincerely apologise for any offence this has caused.
"It was never our intention for this image to be perceived in this way and we will be reviewing our internal routines to ensure that such a misjudgement does not happen again."