Next now sells plus size clothing for children as young as three-years-old

The fashion and homeware giant has announced that they are now stocking plus size children's clothing from ages three to 16.

The clothing which is available for both boys and girls features a range of jeans, trousers and tracksuit bottoms labelled as "plus fit". A plus fit age three pants has a waistband of 58cm compared to their regular age three pants which feature a waistband of 53cm. Showing the plus size kids pants and tracksuit bottoms to be 5cm wider than their average pair. Tam Fry, chief executive of the National Obesity Forum spoke to the Mirror saying: "Next isn’t setting a new trend, they are catering for the market. They are responding to the current state of affairs. It has been in a bad state for a long time but this just shows it has now gone beyond the point of a crisis." The clothing has also sparked a large quantity of online debate with many parents unimpressed with the "plus fit" branding.  

I think this is very sad. An adult feeding a child so poorly that it adds 2 inches to a "standard" 3 y/o's waistline is horrendous.

— Gillian Craigie (@GillCraigie) September 18, 2017

 

Next selling clothes for plus size kids. All kinds of wrong....kids who need them....Next clothing....where to start?! https://t.co/VAT5UPrXa9

— Nicola Westwood (@browniemaker69) September 17, 2017

A Next spokesman however said in a statement: "Our different ‘fits’ cater for children with different size waist and hips, taking into account that children come in all different shapes and sizes." The retailer has yet to comment on whether or not the plus fit range will incorporate a wider range of clothes going forward.