The backlash was exacerbated by the retailer's use of only white boys to model the range’s other sweatshirts with the words "Mangrove jungle survival expert" and images of animals.
A spokeswoman for the retailer told the Telegraph that the offending image had been removed and apologized to "anyone who it may have offended."
Update: The media and public have been unsatisfied with the apology and H&M has issued a more comprehensive statement. It has also stopped selling the offending sweatshirt:
We understand that many people are upset about the image. We, who work at H&M, can only agree.
We are deeply sorry that the picture was taken, and we also regret the actual print. Therefore, we have not only removed the image from our channels, but also the garment from our product offering.
It is obvious that our routines have not been followed properly. This is without any doubt. We will thoroughly investigate why this happened to prevent this type of mistake from happening again.
The Twitter backlash was joined by Labour Party Member of Parliament Kate Osamor, who tweeted: "I was totally shocked, dismayed to say the very least to find this online imagine [sic]. @hm do you think this imagery is an appropriate representation of a young black boy?"
I was totally shocked, dismayed to say the very least to find this online imagine. @hm do you think this imagery is an appropriate representation of a young black boy? pic.twitter.com/ylCIMZHVtv
— Kate Osamor (@KateOsamor) January 8, 2018
In addition, Canadian singer The Weeknd has said on Twitter that he will no longer work with the brand following this incident.
H&M has been contacted for comment but has not yet responded.
This story first appeared on campaignlive.co.uk.
