Real parents show the positive side of cloth nappies

Media release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

27 April 2011

Videos from real parents show the positive side of cloth nappies

Christchurch mum Tash Page is spearheading a unique new effort to show parents the positive side of cloth nappies – via video entries from real mums and dads who use cloth rather than disposables.

“Disposable nappy companies spend a great deal of money creating TV and print ads purporting to show parents how easy their products are to use,” explains Tash, owner of BeBops online baby boutique. “But the world their advertising portrays is idealised and unrealistic, and there’s never any mention of the environmental impact of disposables. I want to show people that cloth nappies are just as easy to use as disposables – and that they’re far more attractive, as well as cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and easy to care for.”

In partnership with 11 other nationwide baby companies, Tash is giving real parents the unique opportunity to not only show off their adorable children in cloth nappies, but also to explain in their own words how they find using cloth over disposables, via a video competition called Cloth Nappies: Helping Make the World Go Around. The videos will be uploaded to the BeBops website (www.bebops.co.nz) from now until 9 May, and the entries will be edited into a montage intended to show other parents the benefits of cloth nappies from the perspective of the people who really matter – real mums and dads who are using them, not actors in a studio.

All entries will go in the draw to win one of two prize packs consisting of cloth nappies from various brands, as well as other baby products. Videos are to be less than 60 seconds and the winners will be announced during International Cloth Nappy Week (16-22 May 2011). Each video needs to show a child in a cloth nappy of any brand, and contain a statement (either spoken, written, or edited onscreen) on one of the following five categories:

• Ease of use, explaining how cloth nappies have evolved and how easy they are for modern parents to use

• Cuteness, simply describing how stylish and attractive cloth nappies are

• Cost, touching on the money using cloth nappies saves, and other uses new parents can find for their savings

• Environment, talking about what parents have found to be the largest impact on their world

• Easy-care, discussing the fact that modern cloth nappies don’t need to be boiled, soaked or bleached but are easy to wash in the washing machine with regular family loads

“Cloth nappies really are easy to use,” says the North New Brighton mum of two, who hopes her initiative will not only get parents excited about cloth nappies, but will also give Kiwi families the chance to focus on something positive in the wake of the recent Christchurch earthquake.

“There are some big misconceptions out there about cloth nappies,” Tash concludes. “The reality is, they don’t take up as much of your time as you might think. You’ll be doing an extra half-load of washing every couple of days. It’s really not that major.”

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