Scotland gets it in The Box!

Reusable Nappies voucher in the Scottish Baby Box

In August 2017 Scotland followed the likes of Finland with its Baby Box. Designed to give every baby born in Scotland an equal start in life, the Baby Box contains everything baby should need for those early days, but up until recently that didn’t include reusable nappies. However as of April the 1st 2019, there is now a voucher for a reusable nappy kit, supplied by TotsBots. As you can imagine we are chuffed to bits!

Everyday, concern grows for the environment and the future of our planet. Overconsumption is the main problem and with 8 million nappies going to landfill every day here in the UK; that’s a whopping 3 billion annually; consumer behaviours need to change. Raising awareness is the first step. By having a reusable nappy voucher in the Baby box the Scottish Government is helping to break down the age-old stereotypes of terry squares and plastic pants, showing parents that there are fantastic eco-friendly alternatives out there.

For the simple swap of throwing nappies in the washing machine instead of the bin, parents can save themselves money and the environment. The little kit available from the baby box will divert around 450 nappies from landfill alone. With a target to recycle 50% of household waste by 2020, making the switch to reusable nappies will substantially reduce household input to landfill.

We are extremely pleased that the government is encouraging a reusable mentality. We live in an age of convenience and many parents are being swayed by the so-called “eco disposable”. It's our opinion that "Eco disposable" is a bit of an oxymoron, especially when there is a perfectly viable and practical, reusable option out there. Think about it, how can something disposable that uses so much material and energy to produce (bio-degradable/compostable or not) possibly be good for the environment? Going “eco disposable” still encourages overconsumption, still using as many as 5000 disposable nappies versus 25 reusable ones. The vast majority of disposables end up in landfill sites where it is almost impossible for them to biodegrade as the waste is so tightly compressed there is no air to support the process. Landfills by definition are not designed to break down waste; they are only designed to store it. Don’t just take our word for it, google “do things break down in landfill” and you can see for yourself.

It’s also important to understand that there is a huge difference in the carbon footprint between disposables and reusables - 40% less per child - and that includes the laundry. Plus, if the nappies are used for other babies, the carbon footprint reduction is even higher. There is a lot of misleading marketing going on out there and this needs to change.

Informing parents about the facts and introducing them to the alternatives is critical to support the change in thinking to help protect our environment. Having a reusable nappy voucher in the Baby Box is a very good place to start.

Find out more here about the baby box kit here.