30 March 2006
Nappy fashion hits the catwalk in 10th Anniversary Real Nappy Week

Diary Date: 24-30 April 2006, Real Nappy Week 10th anniversary

Eleven fashion shows to mark the 10th Anniversary Real Nappy Week, including one in Swansea, reveal just how far real nappies have come in the last decade. No longer just an eco and economic option, real nappies are now a fashionable lifestyle choice. The latest in sassy nappy style and high street chic will be shown off on catwalks around the UK and abroad.

Hundreds of other events are organised to show parents what real nappies are really like. 'Nappuccinos' top the bill in Wales where parents can enjoy a coffee and chat to others who use real nappies on their babies. There will be a series of Nappuccinos to launch Anglesey’s real nappy scheme with more events in Torfaen, while mums and dads in Swansea can visit a different Nappuccino every day.

Carmarthenshire parents can pick up a free trial pack of real nappies at an event in Ammanford, while Hafan Health Centre, Bala, Gwynedd is hosting a Real Nappy Display all week. More events are being confirmed every day and full details are available on Women’s Environmental Network’s website, www.wen.org.uk.

Biba Hartigan of WEN said: ‘There is now such a range that parents can choose real nappies to suit their own personal style. With the new easy-to-use designs, real nappies provide the performance parents demand while giving them a chance to save money and save waste at the same time.’

A record 820 supporters have signed up to back Real Nappy Week, including 86 percent of all Welsh local authorities with 145 MPs including 21 Welsh Assembly Members. With some eight million nappies thrown away every day in the UK, authorities actively promote real nappy use to cut waste and as a cost-saving option for families. And the Week is once again an international affair with displays, fashion shows and other activities planned in Australia, Hong Kong, Ireland, Mexico and New Zealand.

Real Nappy Week is co-ordinated by Women’s Environmental Network (WEN) and sponsored by WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) through its Real Nappy Campaign and supported by Sustainable Wales.

To find out how you can celebrate Real Nappy Week’s 10th anniversary, or for latest details on events taking place near you visit www.wen.org.uk or call 020 7481 9004.

ENDS

For more media information visit www.wen.org.uk or call Liz Sutton, Biba Hartigan or Suzanne Simmons-Lewis on 020 7481 9004.

Notes to Editors

Women’s Environmental Network (WEN) is a registered charity that campaigns on issues which link women, health and the environment. WEN has been involved in Real Nappy Week since its inception and has coordinated the week in its current form since 2000. Support for the Week has grown year on year: from 116 organisations in 2000, to more than 800 supporters in 2006 – over 90% of all UK local authorities – and hundreds of other organisations, companies and political representatives. Other current WEN issues include food, toxic chemicals and the environmental impacts of disposable sanitary and continence protection.

NAPPY FACTS
Cost
Home laundered nappies could save parents around £500 on the cost of keeping a baby in nappies. You can buy all the nappies and waterproof covers you need for your baby's nappy wearing life on the high street for £50, about the cost of seven weeks’ of disposables.

Health
Disposable nappies are made of superabsorbent chemicals, paper pulp and plastics, while real nappies are mostly made of natural fabrics. Organic cotton and hemp nappies and organic wool waterproof covers are available at a reasonable cost.

Waste
Nearly three billion nappies are thrown away in the UK every year. Most (90%) end up in landfill;
that’s nearly eight million nappies a day. We do not know how long it takes for the plastics in disposable nappies to decompose but it could take hundreds of years.

WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) is a major UK programme established to promote resource efficiency. Its particular focus is on creating stable and efficient markets for recycled materials and products and removing the barriers to waste minimisation, reuse and recycling.

A not-for-profit company, WRAP is backed by substantial government funding from Defra and the devolved administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

WRAP is currently running fifteen programmes. Twelve relate to market development, comprising nine material streams (paper, plastics, glass, wood, organics, aggregates, tyres, batteries and plasterboard) and three generic areas (business & finance, procurement, and regional market development). Three further programmes relate to the wider resource efficiency remit - collections, communications and awareness, and waste minimisation.

Part of WRAP’s waste minimisation work, the Real Nappy Campaign is an element of the Real Nappy Programme, which is focused on helping parents to make an informed choice about nappies and increasing the visibility of real nappies. Its targets are to convert an additional 155,000 households to real nappy use, and in the process divert 35,000 tonnes per annum of disposable nappy waste from landfill.

More information on all of WRAP’s programmes can be found at www.wrap.org.uk