Fashion retailer Mango has issued an apology after a necklace displayed on its website described as “slave style” caused outrage among shoppers.
Blaming a translation error for the caption, which read “estilo esclavo” (slave style), the retailer apologised via its official Twitter account and has re-labelled the €24.99 (£21) gold chain.
“We regret the translation error,” Mango told followers via its Twitter feed.
“The relevant services have been alerted and will make the correction immediately.”
The apology followed an online petition initiated by French actresses Aissa Maiga and Sonia Rolland and columnist Rokkaya Diallo, entitled ‘Slavery is not fashion‘, which had attracted over 1,600 signitures by Monday.
In a letter addressed to the retailer‘s public relations department, the petition stated: “This jewellery is meant to make an object of fantasy and fashion out of slavery.
“Mango is trivialising tragedies that still today have an impact on millions of human beings across the world.”
Angry customers also took to Twitter to air their frustration, with #BoycottMango trending on the site last night.
