Green Baby is a campaign calling for a sustainable and toxic free future – so all parents and carers can make safe, healthy and affordable choices for themselves and their children.
GREEN BABY
The Problem
Synthetic chemicals are found in almost everything including nursery furniture, paints, clothes and children’s toys. Some are harmless, but many have been linked to serious health issues. Waste from disposable nappies and plastic toys also has a detrimental effect on the environment.
Facts and Stats
Babies are born with 200 harmful chemicals already stored in their bodies.
2000 disposable nappies are used by a baby a year.
Tests have found more than 200 chemicals in newborn umbilical cord blood.
What Wen is doing
GREEN BABY
Green Baby aims to educate parents, parents to be, midwives and health professionals, on how to create a safer and more sustainable environment for pregnancy, babies and children. The programme will feature workshops, a campaign and coalition as well as ambassador training.
Workshops will be in person and online and will look at harmful chemicals in personal care products, cleaning products, clothing, nappies, food, toys and furniture. They will also feature a Toxic Tour to highlight which baby products and furnishings to choose and which to avoid.
The programme will also train Green Baby Ambassadors to deliver Green Baby workshops in their communities across the UK.
green baby day
The first Green Baby Day was launched in June 2023. The day of action calls for a sustainable and toxic free future for babies and children, and their parents and carers.
Green Baby Day aims to provide information to help families make healthy, eco-friendly and affordable choices to minimise exposure to harmful chemicals. But more importantly, it focuses the attention on our government’s responsibility to ensure effective chemicals regulation to protect current and future generations, especially post Brexit. Find out more.
real nappies for london
Real Nappies for London was founded by Wen in 2007. This project links local authourities, including Hackney, Camden, Islington, Enfield, Haringey, Barnet and Waltham Forest, Bexley, Westminster and Lambeth as well as business and community change agents, to aid the prevention of disposable nappy waste. The scheme helps parents to try reusable nappies – parents with a baby under 18 months are eligible to apply for a voucher to help with the cost of buying their first set of reusable nappies.
FIND OUT MORE
GREEN BABY DAY
Find out how to get involved in the very first Green Baby Day on the 12th June 2024.
TAKE A TOXIC TOUR
Find out how to reduce exposure to everyday harmful chemicals in personal care products by taking our toxic tour.
SAFE ALTERNATIVES
Find out what products to avoid and what the safer alternatives are in our handy chart
WHY AVOID SYNTHETIC CHEMICALS
Find out why babies and pregnant women should avoid synthetic chemicals.
FEATHERING YOUR NEST
Read our new briefing – safe and healthy beginnings for pregnancy, babies and toddlers.
WASHABLE NAPPIES
Ready to make a real change? Find out about Real Nappies for London and how to access the voucher scheme.
PROJECT NESTING
Project Nesting was started by WECF to help parents to create a healthy, non-toxic environment for children, in France, Germany and the Netherlands
GENDER JUST CHEMICALS POLICY
Paper by WECF and Wen highlighting the need for a gender-differentiated view into harmful chemicals and chemicals policy.
resources
Impact
Prevented the use of 4290 disposable nappies per child
Cloth nappy libraries in the UK.
Reusable Nappy Vouchers resulted in 3145 tonnes of waste prevention.