'Too Masculine?' Pampers Denies Removing 'Sesame Street' Diapers Over Gender Concerns
(CBS Local) -- Earlier this summer, reports surfaced that Pampers was removing 'Sesame Street' characters from its diapers because their product lacked equal appeal to both boys and girls. However, Proctor & Gamble says the lovable friends and monsters are here to stay.
"The story speculating on our decision to make graphic changes based on gender is inaccurate," Proctor & Gamble spokesperson Laura Dressman told PEOPLE in a statement.
Dressman did confirm that the company put new graphics on its Swaddlers and Cruisers line of diapers. This comes after a woman from New York said she bought a pair of generic Pampers and was told by a company representative on the phone that parents with daughters complained the diapers were 'too masculine.'
"As a proud partner of Sesame Street for over 15 years, we love featuring Sesame Street's iconic characters on our Pampers Baby Dry diapers," Grossman said in a statement. "The company has always included a range of Sesame's characters — male and female (although we know from research that children love the characters equally). This includes Elmo, Zoe, Cookie, Rosita, Big Bid, and Oscar among others."