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Bare bottom line

Tinnie Chow

China's toddlers are facing a class divide. Traditionally accepted open seat pants are now facing extinction, according to an Associated Press report. It says the booming middle class is replacing the peekaboo bottoms and exchanging them for disposable diapers, which are believed to be civilised and hygienic, while the bare-bottomed alternative is perceived as more barbaric and better suited to peasants.

The agency quotes Zhao Zhongxin, a professor at Beijing's Normal University's Education, as saying: 'Split pants have become a social indicator of sorts.'

Sales of Pampers, according to Procter & Gamble, have grown 50 per cent every year since 1999 and the company credits 'economic development and education level'.

Interestingly, while children in China are walking around with clean pampered bottoms, western parents are increasingly adopting age-old cloth diapers to address environmental concerns. Perhaps open crotch pants have the potential to become the next big thing in the west?

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