The ‘sexy’ outfits for girls of 4 for sale on Amazon
AMAZON has been forced to withdraw a range of sexualised fancy dress costumes for children as young as four after campaigners called them ‘immoral’.
The range offered by a trader on the internet giant’s online Marketplace included a ‘sexy vintage schoolgirl’ outfit and an off-the- shoulder ‘Snow White’ costume, both aimed at the Halloween market.
The outfits were modelled by an East Asian child aged around seven, who stands with one leg crossed over the other in some of the pictures.
The ten-strong range from the Silvia’s Wand brand also includes a ‘French maid’ outfit for children aged four and five, a ‘sexy leopard’ costume and a ‘sexy’ Japanese kimono.
Campaign group Let Clothes Be Clothes described the costumes as the ‘worst example of sexualised childrenswear’ it had ever seen. A spokesman
‘Raises grave concerns’
said: ‘It’s irresponsible of Amazon to allow these to be sold on its platform. To include the description “sexy” and to have this child posing in a provocative way is abhorrent.
‘It’s frightening that people think this is acceptable to sell, let alone something that should be sold on a mainstream website.’
The costumes feature skirts which are only 12in long, and were on sale for upwards of £20 before being withdrawn when Amazon was contacted with concerns about the range.
They had been on its Marketplace site for independent traders since October 2014. A range of highly sexualised adult costumes by the same brand starts at £1.99. Silvia’s Wand is a lingerie brand created by Hong Kong fashion firm Lady Silvia. The firm has no online shop beyond Amazon.
Claude Knights, chief executive of child protection charity Kidscape, said that for ‘inexplicable reasons’ Halloween costumes were becoming increasingly sexualised.
She said: ‘This does raise grave concerns, as young girls have no comprehension of the messages that they are sending out when they wear age-inappropriate clothing.’
Barnardo’s chief executive Javed Khan called the range ‘irresponsible and immoral’, while Justine Roberts, chief executive of Mumsnet, said: ‘It’s baffling that retailers will happily market a child’s costume as “sexy”, and perhaps even more baffling that people will buy it.’
Amazon refused to comment on the range specifically, with a spokesman saying only that ‘all sellers on Amazon Marketplace must adhere to our selling guidelines’. Lady Silvia has been asked for a comment.