Advertisement

H&M ‘monkey’ hoodie row: eBayers cash in on 'racist' jumper storm with bids for the jumper hitting £1,400

EBay
EBay

An H&M hoodie at the centre of a racism storm is being sold on eBay for up to £1,400.

The Swedish clothing retailer was forced to apologise last week over the children's jumping bearing the slogan "coolest monkey in the jungle".

​A row erupted after an image of a black child modelling the top appeared on its website.

H&M withdrew the hoodie, originally on sale for boys aged one to 10 for £7.99, saying: "We are deeply sorry that the picture was taken, and we also regret the actual print."

One seller, based in Washington state, in the US, listed his son's second hand top for sale on the marketplace website for $1,900 (£1,380).

"Excellent like new condition from pet and smoke free home. My son wore twice, always air dried, never in the drier. No fade. Authentic h and m," the listing read.

Several other posts appeared on eBay advertising the top for inflated prices, including by one Dublin seller who offered a "buy it now" price of €1,600 (£1,422).

Others hovered around the lower mark of £100.

The adverts appeared to have been taken down late on Tuesday as eBay sought to stop sellers cashing in on the row.

An eBay spokesman said the website had blocked sales of the item and added that it will continue to remove items "listed maliciously", according to the International Business Times.

Although critics including singer The Weeknd described themselves as "shocked" and "offended" by the adverts, the boy's mother Terry Mango said she thought the "furore" was overblown.

"Am the mum and this is one of hundreds of outfits my son has modelled... Stop crying Wolf all the time, unnecessary issue here... Get over it," wrote Terry Mango in a social media post which has now been deleted.

She later went on ITV's This Morning to say she hadn't expected the media storm but added: "I think everybody should respect different opinions based on racism."

The Evening Standard has contacted eBay for further comment.