” H&M is making diversity moves following all the negative backlash or should I say blacklash last week.
The multinational clothing-retail company has been in a lot of hot water since posting a photo of a young Black model wearing a “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle” sweatshirt on H&M’s U.K. site. The sweatshirt has since been pulled.
Despite his mother defending the brand, the young man photographed in the shirt has been offered a $1 million modeling contract from music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs and has gained lots of celebrity support from LeBron James along with music artists The Weeknd and G-Eazy, who completely cut ties with the brand.
The company has even closed shops in South Africa due to protests where several stores were trashed.
Since removing the product, H&M issued an apology stating they “strongly believe that racism and bias in any shape or form, deliberate or accidental, are simply unacceptable” while trying to stress that their “wonderful store staff had nothing to do with our poorly judged product and image.”
Hoping to remedy the situation, in a public statement on social media, the Swedish retail giant announced they have appointed a “global leader” to address “diversity and inclusiveness.”
Here’s the statement below:
“The recent incident was entirely unintentional, but it demonstrates so clearly how big our responsibility is as a global brand. We have reached out, around the world, inside and outside H&M to get feedback. Our commitment to addressing diversity and inclusiveness is genuine, therefore we have appointed a global leader, in this area, to drive our work forward. There will be more from us soon.”
The Associated Press reports that a company veteran, Annie Wu, the company’s global manager for employee relations has been selected for the “global leader” position. But shouldn’t they have found an African American since their racism seems to be directed at black folks? On top of that, her duties and responsibilities are yet to be defined.
Are you still shopping at H & M? Let me know. Follow me on @Jaztalk1 on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Source: Foto24 / Getty
https://www.bet.com/style/fashion/2018/01/19/h-m-hires-diversity-manager-after-latest-backlash.html
