Nicola Pritchard, from Cannock, Staffordshire, U.K., purchased a £2.50 four-pack set of female undergarments from the budget retailer Poundland’s Pepco range to give to her 10-year-old daughter.
Later, the 40-year-old’s child asked her what a symbol emblazoned across one of the pairs meant – when she looked it up she was ‘absolutely gobsmacked.’
A mother of three has spoken out after discovering an inappropriate symbol on a pack of children’s underwear she bought for her daughter.
“I had previously bought her some underwear with a different design, and she said they were really comfortable,” she explained. “So I thought she’d like these too. They came in a pack of four, but only the front pair was visible—and it had a gingham pattern.”
The underwear was part of Poundland’s Japanese-themed cat range. However, one pair featured a symbol that left her daughter confused. Curious, the mother used Google Translate and Google Lens to find out what it meant.
“To my shock, the translation came back as ‘cat’ or ‘pycat’ in both Chinese and Japanese,” she said. “But the slang meanings—like ‘py’ or ‘moggy’—were really concerning.”
“What’s more worrying is that there’s no actual link to cats on the underwear. There are no cat pictures or anything like that—just the symbol. It doesn’t make any sense why this would be on children’s underwear.”
She added, “I was absolutely gobsmacked. These are even sold in sizes for ages three to four at Poundland.”
Pritchard promptly contacted Poundland to raise concerns over what she described as an “inappropriate” symbol on a pair of children’s underwear. She believes the item was mistakenly approved for sale and is calling for it to be urgently removed from store shelves.
In response, the retailer explained that the undergarment is part of a Japanese-themed cat range. However, they acknowledged the concerns and apologized, noting that they understood why the design might be questioned when viewed out of context.
Pritchard said Poundland assured her that a full investigation would be launched.
But just days later, she returned to the store and was stunned to find the product still on sale.
“It felt like they weren’t taking this seriously at all,” Pritchard said. “I went back to the store a few days after reporting it, and the knickers were still there.”
She added, “I can’t understand how something like this made it through production. It’s completely baffling that this ended up being sold to young girls.”
“It doesn’t belong on children’s underwear. I believe it carries sexual connotations. It’s not even the proper term for a cat—it’s slang. I just don’t see any justification for it being there. It’s entirely inappropriate.”
A mother of three is urging a recall of a children’s clothing item she describes as “inappropriate,” warning other parents before more are sold.
She said, “These should be recalled. I genuinely believe Poundland wasn’t aware and that the issue happened somewhere during manufacturing. I don’t think it was done intentionally.”
In response, a Poundland spokesperson said, “These pants are part of a broader Japanese-themed cat collection that also includes socks and vests. However, we understand why Nicola raised concerns when looking at this particular item outside the full context of the range. We sincerely apologize and appreciate her bringing this to our attention.”
