Highland Real Nappy Project has won the small campaigns category and £400 in the Women’s Environmental Network (WEN) Real Nappy Week Campaign Awards, now in their second year. The awards recognise, reward and publicise the best campaigns run during the annual awareness week in April. They are sponsored by WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme).

With categories for both small and large campaigns, the judges were looking for the most effective campaigns to promote the use of real nappies. “We were impressed by how innovative and extensive the events and activities were; this made the 10th anniversary Real Nappy Week 2006 a record breaking success,” said award judge, Chandra Littlewood, of WEN. “Highland Real Nappy Project’s campaign was a great example of effective promotion in a geographically diverse community.”

Highland Real Nappy Project was selected for its activities and partnerships, which engaged communities across a large area. Their campaign spanned the Highlands with demonstrations, stalls, information displays and coffee mornings. They also worked with Tomorrow’s Child Ltd, who were highly commended for a fashion show at Fort William supported by local MP, former Liberal leader and new dad Charles Kennedy.

''The Highland Real Nappy Project is delighted to receive this award from WEN. With support from local agencies and partners we were pleased to be able to reach parents in many parts of the vast area of Highland during this year's Real Nappy Week,” said Penny Lawson, Project Co-ordinator. “I think all nappy groups like ours get a real boost from being part of a bigger national nappy campaign, and Real Nappy Week is a fantastic annual focus.''

Orkney Real Nappy Scheme was runner up in the small campaigns category. Highly commended awards went to Kingston and Merton Real Nappy Network, Scottish Borders Real Nappy Network, Charnwood Real Nappy Network, Tomorrow’s Child Ltd and Reading Borough Council. The winner of the large campaign category and the overall award was Cornish Real Nappy Project, for its innovative range of activities over a wide area.

A record 905 supporters signed up to back Real Nappy Week, including over 90 percent of all UK local authorities and 155 MPs, MSPs, MEPs and Welsh AMs. No longer just an eco and economic option, real nappies are now a fashionable lifestyle choice. Day-Glo colours, leopardskin prints, organic and unbleached fabrics, snug fitted styles and easy-to-use Velcro or popper fastenings are all evidence of how the growing real nappy industry is responding to the diverse demands of parents.

ENDS
For more media information contact Liz Sutton or Chandra Littlewood on 020 7481 9004, nappies3@wen.org.uk

High resolution version of attached photo available on request
Photo caption: HRNP Project Coordinators Katy Kitchingham (left) and Penny Lawson. To contact the HRNP helpline telephone 0845 201 2609. Photo supplied by HRNP

Notes to editors

Winners: The winner of the large campaigns category, Cornish Real Nappy Project went on to win the overall award. Bucks Real Nappy Initiative was runner up in the large campaigns category, whilst highly commended awards went to Kent County Council, Wiltshire Real Nappy Network, Gloucestershire Real Nappy Campaign and Northumberland County Council.

Awards: The winners of the small and large campaigns categories each receive £400. The overall winner receives an additional £200.

Real Nappy Week 2006 ran from 24 to 30 April. The Week is co-ordinated by WEN and sponsored by WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) through its Real Nappy Campaign and supported by Waste Aware Scotland to raise awareness of the benefits of real nappies. Nearly 600 events took place across the UK and as far afield as Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. For more information on Real Nappy Week visit www.wen.org.uk/rnw

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 850 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.

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.

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

The Scottish Waste Awareness Group (SWAG) works in partnership with WRAP to deliver the Real Nappy Campaign in Scotland, which is funded by the Scottish Executive. SWAG was established in 2000 to change public attitudes and behaviour towards domestic waste in Scotland. The Waste Aware Scotland campaign, developed after 18 months of both qualitative and quantitative research, has been adopted and is being used by all 32 Scottish local authorities. The campaign also receives cross-sector support from the Scottish Executive, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management, the Scottish Environmental Services Association, Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Community Recycling Network Scotland. For more information visit www.wasteawarescotland.org.uk