Nappies: Parental Choice Not Inaccuracies as Facts

Real Nappy Week Must Be About Parental Choice Not An Opportunity for the Green Party to Promote Inaccuracies as Facts

16TH March 2007

Kimberly-Clark respects the choice of manufacturers, promoters and users of reusable nappies to celebrate their chosen nappy type during their annual Real Nappy Week. All too often however it becomes an opportunity for the dissemination of inaccurate information such as we have seen today from Green MP Nandor Tanzcos.

We address all of the myths about disposable nappies on our website:

http://huggiesnz.co.nz/OurProducts/TheEnvironment/MediaMyths_NZ.asp.

In response to the questions raised today by the Green Party:-

1. Kimberly – Clark’s nappies are made from trees which are planted as a renewable crop. Our pulp mill in Australia was established with government and local support, keen to use pine plantation wastes. This waste is called “thinnings” – small trees which are cut down for the health of the bigger trees which ultimately are harvested for lumber. These "thinnings' were originally left to rot and were a wasted resource.
2. The amount of crude oil is approximately less than 10% of the figure reported by Mr Tanczos.
3. It is hard to know how the 500 years claim about the length of time nappies are in a landfill came about, because nappies have only been around for 30 years. Using specified tests which measure breakdown in 6 months, a Huggies® nappy is 35% biodegradable, but in a realistic time frame of a few years approximately 65% of a nappy is biodegradable. However, modern landfill sites are engineered to be stable and low in moisture. As a result nothing much breaks down in landfill.
4. Sodium poly-acrylate gels were never used in tampons. Superabsorbent materials are used in nappies because they can absorb up to 100 times their weight in water, resulting in drier baby skin which minimizes rash and irritation and helps to keep skin healthy. The use of superabsorbents has also facilitated a 30% reduction in nappy bulk in the last decade or so, with consequential benefits for reduced waste disposal. Superabsorbents have been extensively tested to assure they can be manufactured and used safely in personal care products and food packaging and this is acknowledged by experts in toxicology, general medicine, nursing and paediatrics.

We support parents’ rights to make choices for their children from when they are born and throughout their childhood – the right to choose the best nappy for their baby, the best type of childcare for their preschooler and ultimately the right school for their child. Of course these decisions will be informed by current and future environmental, social and economic awareness.

Shows like TV3’s new eco show WA$TED are one way of raising awareness of the impacts which we all have on the environment every time we go shopping, travel to work or manage our households. The show rightly points out that both disposable nappies and reusable nappies have their environmental impacts and according to a recent study by the UK Government Environment Agency, cloth has no environmental advantage over disposable nappies. Using cloth nappies uses more water, energy and detergents whilst disposable nappies contribute more solid waste to landfill. This study has been reinforced by an independent Life Cycle Assessment of nappies under Brisbane conditions which was conducted by the University of Queensland.

It is also worth remembering that disposable nappies account for less than 2% of waste to landfill [Sanitary waste including nappies is 2.7% according to Ministry for the Environment with nappies estimated to be approximately 70% of sanitary waste total.] in New Zealand compared with food and green waste for example which represents almost a quarter of waste to landfill.

We believe that ultimately parents will make choices about the type of nappies for their baby based on a whole range of criteria. But as 96% all nappy changes in New Zealand are with disposable nappies, parents do prefer the comfort and the convenience of disposable nappies for their babies. 1 in 3 mums with a baby less than 1 year old goes back to work and disposable nappies are more convenient because they are quicker to change and do not require laundering

Moreover parents value the benefits of disposable nappies in terms of skin care, dryness and leakage protection. Medical experts say that the reduced incidence of severe nappy rash over the past 15 years is due to the benefits of disposable nappies.

In tests conducted recently by the Australian Choice Magazine, Huggies was the overwhelming favourite by a large margin scoring 93% satisfaction rating – results showed they were the least likely to leak, kept a high level of dryness throughout use, had little shifting of material or disintegration and fitted the best.

Kimberly-Clark has put much effort into researching and improving our Huggies nappies to provide parents with the best possible products while we continually try to minimize their environmental impacts. The bulk of a disposable nappy has reduced by more than 50% over the past five years through improved product design. We have implemented leading edge manufacturing processes to improve our sustainability and we only use the waste from renewable pine plantations to make our nappies. We take our role as product stewards seriously.

Our focus is on providing parents with the best nappy to keep babies dry, comfortable and happy with the minimum impact on the environment.

We do not believe parents should be made to feel guilty about which type of nappy they choose to buy on environmental grounds because waste to landfill is just one part of the story.

Please refer to our environmental fact sheet for more information:-

http://huggiesnz.co.nz/OurProducts/TheEnvironment/default.asp

ENDS

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