Fashion giant H&M has been fined 260,000 yuan ($40,200) in China for publishing a misleading advertisement. The Swedish multinational clothing retail company published advertisements claiming the featured products are only available in China. The authorities also confiscated 30,000 yuan ($4,638) worth of illegal income earned from selling substandard products, reports According South China Morning Post.
The regulator has ordered the company to stop creating and selling items that don’t meet quality guidelines. This isn’t the first time the fast-fashion company has come under fire in China this year. In April, H&M agreed to change a problematic map online following government criticism in China. Internet users reported to the management of H&M’s website about the map and the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources ordered it to be quickly corrected.
China is H&M’s fourth largest market and home to 505 of its stores, second only to the United States, which has 582. In March, the company faced a backlash over claims of genocide and forced labor in the Xinjiang.
