Bottoms up! for International Cloth Nappy Week

PRESS RELEASE 10 May 2011

Bottoms up! for International Cloth Nappy Week

International Cloth Nappy Week kicks off on Monday, 16 May with a number of fun events for parents nationwide, and over $15,000 in prizes to be won. New Zealand retailers, distributors, and importers have been preparing for months for the highlight of their calendar – a week devoted to educating parents, dispelling myths, and celebrating the benefits of modern cloth nappies.

The week’s events begin in Auckland, with two major Cloth Nappy Week activities taking place in the Super City. First thing Monday morning, 52 parents will bring a bag of used disposable nappies each to the Refuse Recycling Station in Henderson, to exchange them for a free cloth nappy – and to help Kate Meads, The Nappy Lady, construct Nappy Mountain.

“The Auckland skyline will have a new icon on Monday morning,” The Nappy Lady says. “We want to show New Zealand parents what a year’s worth of disposable nappies looks like, giving them a clear visual reminder of the impact disposable nappies have on our environment.”

On Monday The Great Cloth Nappy Challenge also begins, with 20 registered Auckland parents taking part in a seven-week trial of cloth nappies. This joint initiative with the Auckland Super City Council is supported by several big-name sponsors including Fisher & Paykel, Persil, Natural Instinct, Womama, Nappy Days, and Itti Bitti, with a $3,000 prize pack for the winner of the Challenge, including a Fisher & Paykel washing machine worth $1499.

But the fun isn’t limited to Auckland only. Nineteen Nappuccino Coffee Groups are being held in cities across New Zealand during the week of 16-22 May, bringing together interested parents with cloth nappy experts. Mums who register and attend their local Nappuccino Coffee Group will go in the draw to win a prize pack worth $250 on the day, and a $1,000 prize pack will be given away to one lucky nationwide attendee. Nappuccinos are scheduled for Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Whakatane, Palmerston North, Nelson, Wellington, Queenstown, Christchurch, Dunedin, Gore, Dannevirke, Waiuku, Timaru, New Plymouth, Oamaru, and Kerikeri. The Wellington Nappuccino will be especially popular, with professional wardrobe stylist Sally-Ann Moffat on hand for mummy makeover magic.

The Nappy Lady herself will be running Nappuccinos in Auckland, Tauranga, and Wellington, and says events like these are a fun way to bring education and socialisation together for busy Kiwi mums.

“Modern mums want baby products that are eco-friendly yet convenient,” The Nappy Lady explains. “Cloth nappies are just as easy to use as disposables, and they’re far better for our environment as well as our bank balance. A busy mother doesn’t always have time to research the options, so we’re bringing cloth nappies to main centres around New Zealand and inviting mums to come learn more in a relaxed setting – on a coffee date with friends.”

Modern cloth nappies have recently been profiled in an article in the 25 April issue of iconic magazine New Zealand Woman’s Weekly – the sold-out Royal Wedding edition – and since then, traffic to the Cloth Nappy Week website www.clothnappyweek.co.nz has been brisk. Interest in cloth nappies is growing, with Kiwi parents concerned about their family’s impact on the ecosystem becoming more keen to find ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle – all three of which are demonstrated by using cloth nappies.

Using modern cloth nappies for one child costs an average of $1,448, compared to $5,636 for disposables – a savings of $4,188 for parents who choose cloth.

Modern cloth nappies really are becoming a mainstream, viable option for modern parents. Celebrity new mum Carly Flynn says, “We love using our cloth nappies on Tilly. They not only look cute but feel soft and are super easy to use and clean. We started using them early on after seeing how much waste we were putting out each week with disposables. I think the key, though, has been to be realistic; we use cloth about 80% of the time.”

International Cloth Nappy Week runs from 16-22 May. Also known overseas as Reusable Nappy Week or Real Nappy Week, this worldwide event aims to raise awareness about washable nappies, their benefits, how to get started using them, and their impact on the environment. Cloth Nappy Week’s new website www.clothnappyweek.co.nz is an independent, comprehensive one-stop-shop for consumers and retailers alike, with information about the different types of cloth nappies, a listing of celebratory events around the country, and nationwide cloth nappy stockist details.

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