Real Nappy Week 21st - 27th April 2008

Friendly Baby is supporting the 12th annual Real Nappy Week from April 21st – 27th.

This year the promotional week, co-ordinated by the Real Nappy Campaign, will be concentrating on how parents can help to combat climate change by using Real Nappies.

The message is clear, providing parents follow simple guidelines when using real nappies, there can be significant gains for the environment both in reduced greenhouse gases and household waste sent to landfill or incineration.

The UK currently throws away around 3 billion disposable nappies every year. They are estimated to weigh 690,000 tonnes most of which are landfilled where they generate methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.

Sally Gordon, spokesperson for the Real Nappy Campaign said: “We are delighted to be able to reassure parents that by using washable nappies in the recommended way they can reduce their impact on global warming and energy use as we are aware that these are key issues for families. In addition Real Nappy Week gives us the opportunity to promote the additional benefits of real nappies including their cost savings, natural fabrics and the choice they represent for parents.”

Energy use: Parents are recommended to wash soiled nappies in full loads at 60°C using low energy rated washing machines, allowing them to dry naturally wherever possible. Washable nappies do not need to be soaked prior to washing and do not need ironing! Nappies that are merely wet rather than soiled can be washed at 40°C with other laundry.

Cost: Home laundered nappies could save parents up to £500 on the cost of keeping a baby in nappies...and that is for the first baby, just think of the savings when you use the same cloth nappies on subsequent children.

Waste: Nearly three billion disposable nappies are thrown away in the UK every year creating 690,000 tons of nappy waste.

In addition to the already discounted prices, for one week only, Friendly Baby have discounted some nappies and accessories even further. Lets hope this is the nudge you need to choose cloth nappies. Some of the sale items are unavailable once current stocks have gone, so grab yourself a bargain while you can.

As always, we are here to help you to make the right decision for you, so if you are wondering where to start in your cloth nappy buying choices then contact us for free, personalised, advice.

NEW Tots Bots FlexiTots nappies now available to pre-order

Tots Bots have announced the imminent arrival of a fantastic new nappy called the FlexiTot. This new nappy is ultra-absorbent, slim fitting and dries quickly. Friendly Baby has been busy putting this new nappy to the test and so far we think it is the best nappy Tots Bots have ever created.

Latest news from Tots Bots is that the FlexiTot should be available end of April to early May, so to be amongst the first to get your hands on the new Tots Bots FlexiTots nappies or Tots Bots FlexiTots multipack place your pre-order now.

New Jackson Reece Wipes now in stock

Fans of the fantastic Jackson Reece wipes have been waiting for this announcement for a long time. We are pleased to announce that the all new Jackson Reece wipes are now in stock.

The wipes still smell as fabulous as they always did, and they still have all of the skin care credentials as before. The new wipes are 100% bio-degradable and the packaging is degradable too. They are made from organic aloe vera, organic tea tree oil, organic lavender oil and high purity water with a vegetable based preservative system acceptable to the Vegan Society. Even better they are produced in the UK reducing their carbon footprint.

Friendly Baby offer a discount when 12 packets are ordered in one go, so stock up now!

Tots Bots Bamboozles Size 3

Many have mourned the recent passing of the Tots Bots Cotton Tots size 3, but we have good news for you. Tots Bots Bamboozles are now available in size 3 - suitable on average for toddlers over 35lbs in weight.

As Bamboozles are more absorbent than Cotton Tots this change should be even more appropriate for toddlers that need size 3 nappies, as by this stage absorbency is usually the key issue.

If your toddler needs a size 3 nappy read more about the Tots Bots Bamboozle here.

Friendly Baby April Competition

Friendly Baby have teamed up with Ethics Trading for the Friendly Baby April Competition. This month we are offering you the chance to win an eco cleaning set containing soap nuts, organic essential oil and Ecover laundry bleach.

Why have we teamed up with Ethics Trading?

A lot of us that use cloth nappies do so because we don't want the chemicals used in disposables to come into contact with our baby's delicate skin. However, how many of us think about the chemicals we put in our cloth nappies when we wash them? Soap nuts are a natural alternative to conventional laundry detergents.

Soap Nuts are actually not nuts, they are a shelled seed or berry - it's the shells that we use. They grow wild in Nepal and India and are a natural source of high quality Saponin, a basic soap. The seeds are useless unless you want to grow a soap berry tree, although they do have uses other than cleaning, but they contain no saponin.

To use them you take about half a dozen soapnut shells, or 20-25g of broken bits, and chuck them in a draw string cotton bag. Bung the bag in the washing machine drum with your dirty washing and set it going. They are odourless so if you want fragrant washing then add a few drops of an essential oil of your choice to the bag.
Soap Nuts contain no bleaching agents and no optical brighteners so they won’t ever get that dazzling white we’re used to from supermarket washing powder. Ecover Laundry bleach can be added for an extra boost.

You simply need to pop 6 – 8 Soap Nut shells, or 20-25g of broken bits, into the clothbag, do it up tightly and throw it in the drum of the washing machine with your laundry load. Soap Nuts wash effectively between 30 and 60 degrees and this bag full will last for up to 3-4 washes. When the Saponin has been used up the shells will change and look soggy – at this point you can safely throw them on your compost heap where they will help your plants. Refill your cloth bag with fresh shells and off you go again.

Soap Nut Juice
50 grams of soap nut will make approximately 1 litre of Soap Nut Juice, which can be used for pretty much any cleaning you need to do around the home, including surfaces, the floor, bath, windows, car etc. Add it to water like you would any other detergent
When you think you've extracted all the saponin, throw the Soap Nuts in the blender with a bit of water and you'll have a wonderful 'liquid' soap for the hand basin. Leave the shells in to get the exfoliating effect after blending - add essential oils if you wish.

More information can be found on the Ethics Trading soap nut page.


So to be in with a chance to win an Ethics Trading eco cleaning set head over to our Competition page.