This weeks fun and games

Changing to Cloth does make a difference

I had a phone call this week from a landlady. A couple who live in one of her flats had just had a baby, and the nappy waste they were producing was taking over their allocation of bin space.  She wanted to know if there was anything she could do to encourage them to use washable nappies, like a laundry service. Unfortunately there are no longer any washable nappy services in Bristol, there used to be, but both closed down. 

In Bristol we no longer have a Council backed nappy incentive scheme. Real Nappies for London is still going strong and a lot of customers find out about us through this.  When May Gurney took over waste collection in Bristol a few years ago they scrapped the nappy voucher. Although it was a small incentive, just £30, it did highlight well to families the waste they were producing by using disposable nappies.  For me the waste issue was third in line after the financial saving, and making sure my baby was not exposed to a cocktail of chemicals that are in popular brand disposables.  There are now some gorgeous, really easy to use and wash nappies available so I wonder what it is that prevents people from at least giving washables a try? With growing birth rates in the UK, the volume of non biodegradable nappies we are sending to landfill scares and worries me. We can't keep on doing this to our planet.  Just because the nappies are going into a hole somewhere far away from where we live doesn't make it ok.  The legacy of doing this will come back to bite our children or grandchildren on the bum! A cute metaphor but a serious one.

I stumbled upon this video introduced by Woody Harrelson.  I watched most of it, but the bit that really stuck out for me was right at the end which highlighted (link takes you there) what we can do as individuals to make a change, because I do think that all of us need to 'Be the change we want to see in the World' (Gandhi) because as well as being an ethical business owner I'm also a consumer and have a responsibility to this beautiful earth to leave it better that I found it. If we all thought that and took active steps towards achieving this would our lives look like? These companies Woody is talking about are the same multinationals that make disposable nappies.

Back to nappies, the nappy campaign in Bristol started 14 years ago, because I bothered the council enough that they probably got bored of me and agreed to do something. Back then the message about reusable nappies was nowhere near as widespread as it is now, but perhaps people are immune to hearing it because they hear it so much they assume it's ok not to bother because everyone else is doing it.  But actually it does matter, every nappy thrown away is a waste of resources, money and a contribution to polluting our planet. So even if you do it part time you'd save 500kg of waste going to landfill (each baby in disposables produces 1 tonne in their nappy lifetime) plus save money, which at the moment has got to be an incentive.  In case you don't know about washables, we're more than happy to educate you in-store or on the phone, or via email. Every time you change a nappy you can be the change.

For more details see our Guide to Using Washable Nappies on our Nappy Page.

Bristol Zoo thinks we're fab!

Thanks to everyone who nominated us for this award. I know it's a fun day out with the kids (when it's not raining or snowing, like it has been this week). Born has placed in the top 3 of the ‘Most Eco Friendly Business’ category of Bristol Zoo’s Walk of Fame awards. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on May 1^st  Will let you know how we get on.  The zoo has a nappy installation, highlighting the issues I've mentioned above that I helped them with almost 10 years ago, have you seen it?

~Eva