Swedish retail giant H&M has recalled a series of children’s socks after coming under fire for allegedly having a pattern resembling the word “Allah” written in Arabic letters, reports said Saturday.
In a press statement, the company said that the pattern was completely a coincidence and unintentional.
“The print on the sock depicting a Lego figure, which looks like “Allah” in Arabic is entirely a coincidence, but because our customers have complained, we have chosen to recall the items,” Petra Buchinger, the Press Officer at H&M said, according to reports by Swedish state radio SVT.
Social media users had criticized the company for the alleged “Allah” writing in children’s socks, which means god in English.
H&M had also come under fire for a children’s hoodie with a sign reading “Coolest monkey in the jungle,” for being racist, as the boy modeling the t-shirt was a black child.
The company appointed a diversity leader following the incident, to address the shortcomings in terms of acknowledging cultural differences sensitivities of the consumers.
