Now in its eighth year, Real Nappy Week is supported by 333 local authorities a 100% increase in just two years for this leading waste prevention campaign.

Real Nappy Week, which runs from 29 March to 4 April 2004, is coordinated by Women's
Environmental Network (WEN) with £75,000 government backing via the Waste and Resources Action Programme's (WRAP) waste minimisation programme.

Mark Barthel, Director of Waste Minimisation at WRAP said: “WRAP is pleased to be supporting Real Nappy Week this year. The Nappies Programme at WRAP will be working to make parents and healthcare professionals aware of the choice and benefits of using washable nappies. Real Nappy Week is an important part of our ongoing communication with parents and we look forward to working with WEN and others to increase the market visibility of real nappies.”

WEN will publish a report, Nappies and the NHS waste prevention and fair choice for parents, on 29 March, to highlight the role of the NHS in this important waste prevention initiative. Ann Link, Coordinator of WEN said, “We need the Department of Health, the NHS, Primary Care Trusts, hospitals and individual midwives to engage with the multiple benefits of giving parents a real choice.” Increased use of cloth nappies could make significant savings for the NHS, local authorities and parents on nappy purchase and disposal costs, while supporting the development of new service industries creating valuable local jobs.

Real Nappy Week is the annual focus of the national nappy waste prevention campaign involving many different organisations throughout the UK. The week sees the launch of Carmarthenshire's Real Nappy Project and the Southampton Real Nappy Network along with a number of cash incentive and loan schemes for cloth nappy users in East Renfrewshire, East Sussex, Hertfordshire and Leicestershire. Roadshows with real nappy displays and information will tour Cambridgeshire, Devonshire, East Sussex, Essex, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire, Stockton-on-Tees and Suffolk, while the ever popular 'Nappuchinos' or 'clothie coffee mornings' will be held in Bedfordshire, Cheshire, Chesterfield, Exeter, Faversham, Leamington Spa, the Mendip area, Powys, Shrewsbury, Southampton, Stockport, Swansea, West Wickham, Winchcombe, Worcester and Wrexham.

Click here for a list of Real Nappy Week supporters.

UK Nappy Line 01983 401959 gives callers details of their local cloth nappy contacts whether they want to buy them to wash at home or use a laundry service.

ENDS

For media information contact Elizabeth Hartigan or Liz Sutton,
Women's Environmental Network, PO Box 30626, London E1 1TZ
Telephone: 020 7481 9004 or 0771 886 5009
Email: bibahartigan@aol.com


NOTES TO EDITORS
Women's Environmental Network is a registered charity which campaigns on issues which
link women, health and the environment. Always inclined to break new ground, WEN initiated
the Waste Minimisation Act which was passed in 1998.

Real Nappy Week 29 March to 4 April 2004 is the annual focus of the real nappy campaign. In addition to the national campaign, local activities are organised all over the UK to mark the Week and raise awareness of the benefits of cloth nappies both to consumers and the environment.

Waste
The real nappy campaign and home composting have been chosen to lead the government's
new waste reduction strategy with a target to convert an additional 155,000 households to
real nappy use by April 2006. For further information visit www.wrap.org.uk

Cost
Home laundered nappies could save parents £500 on the cost of keeping a baby in nappies.
You can kit out your baby in real nappies on the high street for under £70. The same amount
of money will only buy ten to twelve weeks of disposables. Even taking into account the total
cost of laundering nappies at home (about £50 a year) the savings are still considerable.

Use
Women's Environmental Network estimates that about 15% of parents now use real nappies.

Public Contact Details:
UK Nappy Line 01983 401959
Gives callers details of their local cloth nappy contacts whether they want to buy them to wash
at home or use a laundry service. With over 1,200 retail outlets in the UK and more than 75 local nappy sellers along with numerous laundry services and mail order companies, it has never been easier to find and use cloth nappies.

www.wen.org.uk/nappies for online cloth nappy information and supplier contacts.
More information on Real Nappy Week is available on www.wen.org.uk/rnw