Reduce, Reuse and Recycle with Reusable nappies made from plastic waste.

Plastic Fantastic news for British Nappy Company (or From Bottles to Bottoms for British Nappy Company)

TotsBots, a Glasgow based firm, are the first company in the world to make reusable nappies out of plastic bottles. With ever growing concern for the environment and as the war on plastic gathers momentum, this is great news for parents who want to minimize their environmental impact; now they can reduce their single use plastic and recycle, one reusable nappy change at a time.

The waterproof outer fabric (the essential part that keeps all the wetness in) was previously knitted using virgin polyester yarn but will now be made from recycled polyester from plastic bottles. There will be on average 2 bottles diverted from landfill with every TotsBots nappy. The new fabric was specially developed for TotsBots and it is Oekotex 100 (class 1) certified. This means that there are no harmful chemicals or residues present and is the highest safety certification for garments worn by babies next to their sensitive skin.

Director Fiona Smyth said, “We are so excited to be the first reusable nappy company in the world to be doing this. It gives parents an even better reason to choose cloth nappies over disposables now. With over 8 million nappies going to landfill every day, if even half of parents switched to cloth that would be a whole lot of plastic bottles and nappy waste being diverted from landfill. We really hope this will inspire other companies to follow suit. The technology is here and there is certainly enough plastic waste here so there is no reason why this shouldn’t become the norm.”

She continued “Over the last 3 years we have seen a marked increase in parents opting for cloth nappies as their preferred choice for their babies; concerns about the environment, chemicals in disposables and guilt about over-consumption are behind this. Modern cloth nappies are not the terry squares and plastic pants of our grandparents’ days. They come in all shapes, colours and sizes and are so much easier to use than people fear. Parents are always amazed at how well they work and how easy they are.”

As part of the Scottish Government’s war on waste, TotsBots were recently chosen to supply the cloth nappy voucher in the baby box. Magnus, who designs all the nappies now, came up with a tiny little nappy specifically for use on new-born babies, and early uptake figures are very promising showing 14% of parents are choosing to try the nappies out. This is higher than the national UK average of 10%.

TotsBots has already started phasing in the new recycled fabric and hopes to have made the complete switch over by October this year. The new nappies will be easily identifiable with a little recycled nappy logo showing how many bottles per garment have been diverted from landfill. As single use plastic becomes more and more unpopular, this is a trend that will continue to grow too especially once the news that in addition to diverting 5-6 plastic nappies being thrown to landfill each day, parents can now divert 10- 12 plastic bottles from landfill too, one poop at a time!
Stockists: www.totsbots.com

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

Please contact courtney.arbuthnott@totsbots.com for supporting images and further information (Tel: 0141 774 6437)


Background information

TotsBots, the brainchild of Fiona Smyth, was set up at the kitchen table in October 2000 after the birth of her second baby. Appalled by the fact that the nappies she used on her firstborn would still be in landfill 17 generations from now, she decided to do something about it, so armed with a sewing machine from a car boot sale and a heap of wild ambition, she set about designing her own nappies out of an old bath towel. Her husband, Magnus, joined forces with her about 6 months later and together they have grown the company to become the UK’s leading reusable nappy brand. TotsBots is now in its 19th year of trading and strives to lead the way with innovative design and a total commitment to manufacturing in the UK.

TotsBots employ 70 staff in the East End of Glasgow and their award winning products are sold worldwide.

Prices start at £10.99

TotsBots have 3 core product types:
• The EasyFit - It’s the nappy that is most like a disposable. It’s one piece and most preferred by parents for use during the day
• The Bamboozle - A two piece bombproof combination that gives unbeatable overnight performance.
• The PeeNut - A simple absorbent bamboo toweling pad and waterproof combination that is great for parents on a tight budget.

Why Parents choose cloth:
• They save money - disposable nappies cost up to £1800 per child. Reusables will cost 150 to £350 depending on the brand and system chosen and will last until potty training and can often be used for more than one child.
• They divert waste - 5000 nappies thrown away per child amounts to 2 tonnes of waste per child.
• They reduce raw material consumption by over 98% - Reusables will use around 2.5KG whilst disposables will use around 150KG per child – NB. Disposal weight is higher due to wee and poo content.
• They don't contain chemical gels, perfumes or known irritants, often found in disposables
• They are much more attractive than throwaways; cloth nappy fans are known to proudly show their stash shots on instagram, inspiring other parents to make the switch.
• They are easy to use

Some Stats
• 1 in 10 parents are now using cloth. This has increased from 6%, 3 years ago. It is anticipated this figure will continue to grow.
• 8 million nappies are thrown away every day to landfill, that’s 3 billion per year
• Disposable nappies take 500 years to degrade.
• Landfill is running out in the UK so this waste will soon have to be incinerated releasing toxins and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere
• Including the energy to wash, reusable nappies are 40% better for the environment than disposables and eco disposables.
• Eco disposables are not the answer, they use the same amount of energy and raw materials to produce as disposables and what’s worse is they don’t actually biodegrade in landfill, very little biodegrades in landfill as it is so tightly compressed there is no air and they end up preserving waste. Landfill sites are only designed to store waste, not break it down. What little does break down releases methane, further contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.