Real people making real nappies

Behind the seams at TotsBots

Having manufactured our reusable nappies in the UK for almost 20 years, ethical manufacturing is at the heart of our business. We are really proud of what we do and would like to take you behind the seams to hear from the people who make your nappies, some of our team have been with us from the beginning too. First up is Linda, one of our longest-serving machinists…

Linda has worked at TotsBots since 2003 and was our first full-time machinist.

At that time there were only 4 people working for TotsBots making reusable nappies. In that time Linda’s children have grown up and become parents themselves and Linda is now a granny! Since Linda started TotsBots, we have moved factory 4 times and now employ 70 people.

Fiona reminisces about the day she interviewed Linda:

“Linda was returning to machine sewing after a break of 16 years, it was me that interviewed her, not really knowing what I was doing or what I was looking for, but she could sew much faster than me which was an immediate winner, so I just went with my gut as I liked her attitude and she has been here ever since. I remember she took to it like a duck to water too. In those days we only had 3 products in the range, the nippa cotton tots, the aplix cotton tots (all white) and the fleece wrap. We worked out of a tiny 250m2 unit off Duke street and Magnus was the one who packed all the parcels. We didn't even have a cutter at that point. I used to drive all over Glasgow in my little red J reg Mazda 323 picking up bags of cutwork from the cutter (who used to do the work on the side…shhh) and dropping off at the outworkers who made our reusable nappies in sheds at the bottom of their gardens.”

What she currently does

Linda currently runs the Bloom and Nora line responsible for making all of our reusable sanitary pads. Her superpower is attaching the binding to the pads in one action without stopping. It takes her 2.5 seconds! She is pretty awesome and her other superpower is she can make all of the products that we produce at TotsBots. She loves the variety of working on all the different nappy types, but her favourite one was the Fluffle, just because they were so soft, fluffy and white. Fluffles are no more sadly. They were just a bit too bulky!

What Linda likes best about working for TotsBots and Bloom & Nora

Linda said she loves her job; that everyone is really friendly and nice. She said “I’m really proud of what you and Magnus have achieved. Bringing up a young family and growing a business to the size that it is, is a great achievement.” She loves being part of that. Loves the sense of pride she has making award winning products. She is so proud of Magnus and Fiona being here almost since the beginning and witnessing the growth and success of the company today.

Has working for an eco friendly company changed her outlook?

When we asked Linda if working for TotsBots had changed her outlook on the environment, she stated she has always been eco minded so nothing had really changed for her there; it just made her prouder of her work. She talks about her job with her grandchildren… “I talk with my grand-kids about my job…it’s great to be able to set an example to them, and to inspire them to care about the environment. It shows that I care and being able to do that makes me feel proud. We talk about the plastic going into the oceans and how we need to stop throwing away so much stuff. I love the new recycled plastic fabric that we’re using for both our reusable nappies and sanitary pads.”

Linda’s story shows just how much love and care goes into our products, not only from Fiona and Magnus who started the business nearly 20 years ago, but from all the staff working on the factory floor day in and day out. We are really grateful to them and to all the parents out there who choose TotsBots Nappies for their baby’s bums. Ethics and the environment win hands down over consumerism and convenience we say… and it's a growing trend that is here to stay!