Tuesday, August 28, 2012

The Nappy Lady Visits Feilding

"Nappy Lady" promotes cloth option


(Posted on: August 22)

EACH year, New Zealand-wide, hundreds of thousands of tonnes of disposable nappies are tipped in the nation’s landfills.
To extend the life of the present landfill and reduce costs to the community, the Manawatu District Council recently hosted an evening with Kate Mead, “The Nappy Lady”, to promote the sustainable option of using cloth nappies instead of disposable ones.
During the presentation, Kate crunched the numbers to show the savings from using cloth nappies.
She said that essentially, over a 2.5 year period for one child, the full cost of disposables (with calculations including wipes, disposal, washing and extras) would reach about $5000.
The full cost of cloth nappies, however, would be in the region of $1300 – a savings of $3700. And with two children, the savings could be about $8500 as nappies had already been bought for the first child.
The evening ended with simple demonstrations on using and taking care of cloth nappies, which ranged from budget models to the trendy two and three-piece domed combinations. All attendees received complimentary packs of two sets of cloth nappies.
* The photo shows "The Nappy Lady” Kate Mead demonstrating a cloth nappy to Catherine Larsen.


Monday, August 13, 2012

The Nappy Lady: Parents who feel guilty about using Disposables can do something about it.

The Nappy Lady: Parents who feel guilty about using Disposables can do something about it.

Parents who feel guilty about using Disposables can do something about it.

Over the weekend there were a number of papers who picked up the news on the latest figures out from a disposable nappy survey.

I thought it was really exciting news because the figures show that more parents are making the switch to cloth nappies.

The figures showed that there is now at least 30% of parents using cloth nappies at least some of the time.

This is fabulous news for the cloth nappy industry as in previous years it has been estimated that 95% of parents use disposables.  It is really exciting to see parents are having a go with cloth nappies.

The three most interesting things I found in the articles were the reference to cloth nappies taking up more time, that parents felt guilty using disposables and lastly that they were trying to spend less on nappies because they couldn't afford the more expensive brands.

Time consuming or time saving...

In this day and age, cloth nappies take very little time out of your day.  The best news is that you dont need to fold them, pin them or soak them.  No scrubbing or boiling is required.  No more wringer washing machines and wash boards.

We now have fancy machines that do all of the work for us.  The amazing pieces of equipment require less thought than ever.  Some of the modern washing machines simply require you to put the nappies in and it will do the rest. The hardest part is hanging the nappies on the line.  Truth be told this takes less time than taking out the disposable nappies to the outside bin.

The nappies are as easy to put on as a disposable and wow what a fashion statement. 

Cloth nappies are really not as time consuming as you are lead to believe.  Also in my experience I was actually doing less washing with the cloth nappies than with the disposables.  I found that whenever Dan was in a disposable it leaked, regardless of brand or size and so I would have to wash a lot more than just a cloth nappy.

The Guilt factor:

If parents are feeling guilty about using disposables, perhaps they don't realize that there is a modern cloth nappy alternative. 

They are most likely still thinking of the old nappies with the red stripes, pins, buckets and soaking.  Sadly this is what you would believe when you read the information about cloth nappies in your Plunket thriving Under 5 book.  

The fact is that the old pink striped wonders our parents had us hanging out in are not easy to come by these days.   And today you only need a few cloth nappies if you just want to use them when you are having a day at home.  Or if you want to use cloth nappies full time you will only need around 15 - 20 nappies.

For those 37% of the parents who are feeling guilty for using disposables, I encourage them to use just one cloth nappy each day for one nappy change and they could make a massive difference to their baby's overall contribution to the landfill. 

By using JUST 1 cloth nappy per day they would prevent 365 nappies from going to land fill each year which could fill around 7 rubbish bags per year and save them around $250 per year as well.

The wallet wins more if you use cloth nappies...

With the other concern being the weekly grocery bill, these budget conscious parents could potentially save them selves $20 - $30 per week or a few thousand dollars per baby if they made the switch to cloth nappies.

Even parents who choose to use cloth nappies just some of the time will save hundreds of dollars per baby.

The truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth....

The fact is that many parents think they have to do one or the other.  It is either Cloth or Disposable. 

They have probably never considered the possibility of using both types of nappies. 

By using a combination of cloth and disposables like I did, they can do their bit for the environment by using cloth nappies whenever it suits them but still have the convenience of a disposable when they want it.

The way I saw it was that if I was out and I wanted a quick coffee to go, 1 disposable cup was ok and gave me a bit of out and about convenience.  However, I would never have a stack of disposable coffee cups at home to use when the girls came around for a coffee because it was easy to wash a load of cups in the dishwasher at home. 

It is all about balance and doing your bit.  Sure life is busy but if we just keep diving for convenience items we will end up living in a pile of our own crap and some time in the future, someone is going to have to take time to clean it up. 

If we start making the small changes now, we can make a difference but if we continue to bury or heads in the sand, our children are going to have one hell of a mess to clean up!





Thursday, August 9, 2012

Cheeky Cherubs Competition - The Nappy Lady

Competition time.......


For this weeks competition I am giving away a Pop in Nappy From Cheeky Cherubs





To be in to win you need to go to the cheeky cherubs website and tell me how many different brands of cloth nappies they sell.


Competition open from Thursday 9th of August and will be drawn Friday 10th August


AND THE WINNER IS:

Monique Bush

No Pins Involved!!!

The Nappy Lady workshops are not just about nappies and you can be assured there are no pins involved! 

Sure we talk about cloth nappies and what awesome alternatives are available to modern parents today, how they all work and how to choose the right one for your baby.  Parents and expecting parents will also learn how to wash cloth nappies with the least effect on the environment, fabric options and cost savings. 

But with the title, 'Waste Free Parenting" there will be education included in the workshop about how to reduce your overall household waste with a small baby in the house.   With consumerism and living in the fast lane, and convenience items everywhere we look, it is no wonder a baby will increase the households rubbish by at least 50%.  You only have to see how many one use items we are encouraged to buy and use to make life go faster and keep up with our busy schedules. 

I believe everyone can be sustainable and make a difference in some way without it costing a fortune or being time consuming, you just need to take baby steps and you will succeed.  I was one of the worst waste contributors before we had our son and now even though I am incredibly busy I am sustainable at home, not perfect, but I am doing my best and making a difference in my own backyard.  I have worked with many local councils to get parents what I refer to as their first step to sustainable parenting, a trial pack of cloth nappies.  This is what started my personal journey to sustainability and I want to help other parents to make smart choices too.

The workshops cost $20 per couple or person attending on their own and for the investment the council and / or my sponsors (depending on the workshop) have funded a trial pack that the parents can keep.  Expecting parents, any parents / caregivers with children still in nappies (up to 17kgs) can attend and get their pack.  Midwives and antenatal educators are also welcome to attend for free but they will not receive a free pack.

To book they just need to head to http://www.thenappylady.co.nz/workshops.asp

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Latest Press release on workshops

7 August 2012
News Release

ARE YOU A WASTE FREE PARENT?

Modern cloth nappies are really taking off, and Kate Meads, the Nappy Lady, is taking her knowledge about cloth nappies and sustainable living to parents in 14 New Zealand towns during the next six months.

 "Teaching parents about their options for minimising their impact on the environment is my passion, and councils and other organisations are really getting on board to support waste-free parenting as viable and achievable," Kate explains.

 In conjunction with various councils and with the support of many local cloth nappy companies, Kate is running informative workshops on waste-free parenting and modern cloth nappies in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Rotorua, Kawerau, Hastings, Palmerston North, New Plymouth, Hawera, Hutt City, Wellington, Dunedin, and Oamaru, and is set for a busy few months in the lead-up to summer. "

More and more councils around NZ are starting to look seriously at minimising the amount of waste they are accepting into their landfills," Kate says. "Waste-free parenting is about not only minimising your family's eco footprint, it's also about teaching parents about sustainable and environmentally conscious options. Cloth nappies are one important component of this, but I also help parents to integrate other waste-minimising activities into their home life, such as composting and recycling."

 At The Nappy Lady workshops, parents and parents-to-be not only learn about the different styles of cloth nappies, they'll also receive tips and information on what they can do at home to reduce their waste output. What's more, attendees of the workshops receive a free cloth nappy trial pack to take home, giving them an opportunity to put into action the information they learn.

"There is massive interest in the workshops, and many are sold out weeks in advance," Kate says. "Parents are hungry for this information and we're adding more and more workshops to keep up with the demand. It's great to see the initiative spreading nationwide, and the positive impact waste-free parenting and cloth nappies are having on Kiwi parents."

Kate’s personal goal is to get every family in NZ with children in nappies to use just 1 cloth nappy per day which would prevent 1 million nappies from going into our local landfills every week. All of the upcoming workshops are listed on The Nappy Lady’s website http://www.thenappylady.co.nz/workshops.asp

 -ends-

 For interviews, comments or more information, please contact, Kate Meads, The Nappy Lady on (07) 549 2955 or 027 22 11 242 or via email thenappylady@me.com

A full list of workshop dates are included on the following page

Upcoming workshops:
 • AUCKLAND Saturday 18 August, 10:30am to 12pm
Saturday 25 August, 1:00pm to 2:30pm
 Monday 17th September, 10am to 11:30am
Tuesday 18th September, 6pm to 7:30pm

• HAMILTON Friday 5th October – 6pm – 8pm

• ROTORUA Thursday 9 August - 6:30pm to 8:30pm

• TAURANGA Saturday 11th August - 10am to 12 noon
Monday 19th November – 6:30pm – 8:30pm

• HASTINGS Friday 24 August - 6:00pm to 8:00pm

• NEW PLYMOUTH Thursday 6 September - 10:30am to 12:30pm

• HAWERA Saturday 7 September - 10am to 12 noon

• FEILDING Thursday 16th August – 6:30pm – 8:30pm

• PALMERSTON NORTH Saturday 18 August - 10am to 12 noon
Wednesday 7th November 6:30pm – 8:30pm

• DUNEDIN Saturday 29th September – 11:30am – 1:30pm

 There are other nappy schemes that are in other areas that do not run a workshop. Check the website (http://www.thenappylady.co.nz/workshops.asp) for more information and to book into any of the upcoming workshops.