We have had another busy weekend in Birmingham with the Half Marathon. There were 14,000 entrants with 6 water stations along the route providing recyclable plastic bottles. The clean up guys were fantastic in their efforts to get all those water bottles back into the recycling system. We had several representatives from our department running, who all managed in 2 hours or less, not bad – if I had done it I think I would still be on the Pershore Road!
However, my excuse for not running, was that I was busy checking for jelly fish on Guardamar Beach. I could hardly believe that the temperature in Spain in October would be up to 37 degrees with a millpond sea and just the occasional ‘medusa’.
Now that I am back to work, I find I have a couple of requests for information on nappy laundry services. This is a service that seems to have disappeared a little over the last couple of years. There are still lots of people who would like to use real nappies, but because of work commitments or living conditions, just cannot manage it. There is a company called Washed and Delivered who do just that! They provide all the nappies required and collect and replace on a weekly basis, for a fee which is still less than what some parents spend on their disposables. What I really like about this company is that rather than just supplying prefold nappies, they also give you the option of having a Fuzzibunz stuffable nappy, which a lot of parents prefer.
As an incentive to our residents to use real nappies, Birmingham City Council are offering to pay for two weeks use during the nappy trial offered by Washed and Delivered. Go on, give it a try…..
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I wonder if it's because nappy laundries only supply flat nappies that put people off the idea of using a laundry. It's great to see that this company is providing more choice by also supplying Fuzzibunz pocket nappies.
ReplyDeleteHaving used to run a laundry service I am only to well aware how tight margins are when it comes to keeping the business of a real nappy laundry service going.
ReplyDeleteIf we had the incentives that Birmingham CC are offering it would have allowed us to extend our reach far further than we actually did. Instead we had to diversify into other avenues of ethically principled and community focussed enterprise.
I am in full favour of laundry services and Sandra, you are completely right when you stated that it allows those parents who want to use real nappies but work or have other commitments the opportunity to use them without any added 'inconvenience'.
However, I must disagree slightly with the issues raised regarding the prefolds. Whilst I agree that prefolds are not for everybody and not everyone likes to fold their nappies, if the families who are using the service are shown how to use them properly and importantly (probably even the most important point)that you get the right wraps to do the job then prefolds become a viable option. We found these two issues considerable factors in people staying on to use the service after their initial trial period had ceased. It also allowed those service users who were truly satisfied to recommend us to others. A crucial factor in the success of any laundry service.
I hope the trial goes really well for you Sandra and it is great to see another council backing the work of the Real Nappy Campaign. Keep up the good work! :)
I think a lot of parents dismiss the flat nappies simply because they think they will be more work. One of the reasons I hear for not trying real nappies is "I can't be bothered with all the folding". Shaped nappies are quicker, but we are just talking about a few extra seconds here. I know a parent who is a Lollipop agent and has access to all the lovely new nappies available, but has still used prefold nappies on both of her children until they potty trained. Prefold nappies have so much going for them, they are easy to use, nice fabric next to baby's skin, easy to wash and dry, are one of the cheapest real nappies to buy and make great wash cloths when they are no longer needed for baby.
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