(2 Feb 2020) LEAD IN: The purchase of reusable nappies is booming in the UK as parents ditch disposable diapers.
The resurgence of reusables is being driven by three factors: growing environmental awareness, fashionable designer prints and cost cutting.
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Forget the bulky cloth nappies (diapers) of old - the new breed of reusable nappies is flashy and fashionable.
In limited-edition designer prints this is just a small selection of some of the most sought-after reusable nappies available on the market.
This is the warehouse of the Nappy Lady - she is an online retailer and a reusable nappy guru.
The Nappy Lady, AKA Wendy Richards, is the starting point for many on their journey into reusable nappies.
She provides a questionnaire and free consultation to help parents find the right reusable product for their babies. For example, the parents' heights can have a significant impact on the right fit of nappy.
When she first started selling nappies the selection was much plainer - but in the last 20 years she's seen how the designer prints have helped to drive a new market.
She says: "You've got so many beautiful prints and that's sort of come out in the last four or five years. It's gone from the plain, just whites, or you might have a blue or a pink one in there. Now the manufacturers are following trends, llamas are very fashionable at the moment, avocados are the new thing that's coming out, and almost trends that you see on parents' clothes you now see on their nappies, so parents are kind of making it part of their clothing."
It's good business - 10 years ago what she was turning over in a year, she's now turning over each month.
"We've got parents sitting up, they're waiting for me to launch them. They know what day we've got the delivery in, what time we're going to launch and they're sitting on the website at four in the morning just waiting for them to go live. They've said they're harder to get hold of than Glastonbury tickets," says Richards, referring to the popular music festival.
The Nappy Lady says these Mother-ease nappies from Canada are her most sought-after reusable nappies in the UK.
When the Nappy Lady receives a fresh batch the demand from consumers has not only crashed her own website, but her host's too.
She recently sold 300 Mother-ease nappies in just 30 seconds.
If the fashionable prints are what hooks the parents into using reusable nappies for the longterm, environmental guilt is what is driving them to ditch the disposables in the first place.
The UK throws away eight million disposable nappies every day, according to the Environment Agency, and the average baby wearing disposables will get through 4,000 on average before they are potty-trained.
To help parents stick with reusables, the Nappy Lady also runs small group education sessions.
Every one of the mothers here today says they are trying reusable nappies for environmental reasons.
These nappy seminars cover everything from the different types of reusable nappies, to the best routine for washing and drying.
Attending today's session in The Nappy Lady's own front room is Kate Yip and four-month old baby Piper, who is listening intently.
Kate used disposable nappies with her first baby, but guilt of all the waste has driven her to reusable nappies for the second.
So after four-months what's been the hardest part of the new regime?
"The hardest thing? Teaching the husband how to wash them correctly. He means well," she says.
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