Fast fashion retailer H&M was forced to close stores in South Africa over the weekend, after a group of “anti-racism” demonstrators protested through the outlets, toppling mannequins, overturning clothing racks, and leaving a wave of destruction in their wake.
Last week, H&M found itself in trouble after they released an ad showing a black child dressed in a shirt that read, “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle.” After social media users pointed out the photo’s racist implications, H&M apologized in an emailed statement, claiming that they’d made a horrible mistake, and vowing to be more conscious when putting together future ads.
The apology was not enough for some, however, and on Saturday, members of the Economic Freedom Fighters, a South African political party, gathered to protest outside H&M stores across the country — and things quickly went off the rails.
As part of their “protests,” some EFF members turned violent and rampaged through the stores, destroying displays and strewing clothes across the floor. Twitter users captured the chaos on video.
Look at the lawlessness!!! This is at H&M pic.twitter.com/UvpHEYS9dQ
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) January 13, 2018
In some cases, protesters caused actual property damage, breaking mirrors, destroying mannequins, and even ripping apart merchandise.
[IMPORTANT NOTICE]: All the stores of that racist retailer @hmsouthafrica are CLOSED. Racism must fall and we will never tip toe around racists. pic.twitter.com/eqmw885k6X
— Floyd Shivambu (@FloydShivambu) January 13, 2018
H&M issued a statement on Saturday, announcing that they’d closed the affected stores, and would be suspending sales at others, in order to protect workers.
“Out of concern for the safety of our employees and customers, we have temporarily closed all stores in the area,” a statement read on H&M’s website over the weekend.
“None of our staff or customers have been injured,” H&M said. “We continue to monitor the situation closely and will open the stores as soon as the situation is safe again.”
The company also pointed out that protesters were punishing local workers and customers for a corporate mistake. “We strongly believe that racism or bias in any shape or form, deliberate or accidental, are simply unacceptable. We stress that our wonderful store staff had nothing to do with our poorly judged product and image.”
Others in South Africa agreed, and suggested that protesters were doing more harm than good.
EFF’s message was loud and effective but went against what should be happening which is discussions. H&M contribute to the country and money that flows. They provide jobs and give people access to funds – even if only one H&M store closes or closes for a while it affects a family
— Tk (@TkMatakanye) January 13, 2018
Leaders of the EFF movement said they make “no apologies” for what their “fighters” did to H&M, and suggested that targeting H&M’s retail stores was “just the beginning.”
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