Washing Power, Bio or Non Bio?

Washing powder, bio, or non bio? Recently you may have seen reports from the Nappy Science Gang (NSG) indicating that Biological Washing Powder is okay to wash your nappies with. They have said, that Biological Washing Powder is okay to use when washing babies garments. The enzyme's used are no longer believed to irritate babies sensitive skin.

The NSG is a fantastic project which has brought parents, nappy retailers and manufactures together to talk about the science of washing nappies. They have also conducted their own experiments to determine effective ways of washing nappies. We are very excited about seeing the results!

At Go Real, we will continue to recommend non bio washing powered when washing nappies, especially if your nappies are made of natural fibers such as bamboo or cotton. Please read the NSG's interview with Ian Strudwick, a fabric technician for more information on why enzymes are not good for natural fibers. 

 

It is really important to remember that nappies are washed more frequently and more intensively than clothing, meaning that they need more care taken when washing and we believe that using non bio powder will give them this extra care.

Click here to see our washing guidelines.

Reusable Menstrual Products Week

We are sad to say that Go Real cannot take the credit for the idea of holding Reusable Menstrual Products Week. The credit goes to Rachel Myers, read on to find out how and why she wanted us to do this!

“I first stumbled across Reusable Menstrual Products when I was exploring the world of cloth nappies for my babies. My initial thought was ‘Gross!’ but the more I looked into what they were the more I wanted to know. I was already using cloth nappies on my babies due to disposables causing horrible nappy rash and we found cloth to be so much kinder to their bottoms.

Every month I would dread my period due to the horrendous cramps, I hated how disposable pads felt all hot and sweaty, tampons were always so uncomfortable, and without fail every month I would develop thrush just to add to my discomfort, but this is all part of the curse of being female, right?! It was just something I had to put up with and suffer through.

The more I researched about Reusable Menstrual Products, the more I heard people talking about how comfortable they were and how they no longer hated their menstrual cycle (I know, they must me mad! How can anyone LIKE their ‘Monthly Curse’?!).

I decided I had to give it a shot, anything was better than the current solution of hiding in my bed with a hot water bottle, chocolate, strong painkillers and a tube of Canesten cream. But how could I find out more? There were a few groups on Facebook but you had to really hunt to find out what you wanted to know and even more searching to find where to buy them, a lot of the information was word of mouth.

One evening when discussing this in a Facebook group I said what we really needed was a campaign similar to Real Nappy Week, where you can find all the information you need to know in one place and for one week sellers run competitions and discounts for those who are looking to switch. We started talking more about how it would work and what sorts of things we could do to spread the word about Reusable Menstrual Products.

The next day a friend of mine, an environmental activist and Eco-blogger said she was keen to get the idea off the ground. We set up a group of cloth pad makers and sellers started to talk more about the idea, she then told me she had been contacted by Go Real who wanted to help us host this campaign.

Over a year later and we are preparing for the first annual Reusable Menstrual Products Week in October. We have a week long campaign set up with information and giveaways. We have the support of over 20 businesses including cloth pad makers, menstrual cup companies and eco-friendly shops who have kindly donated products and prizes. And we also have a team of 43 women across the country who have been given Demo kits to take round their local communities and spread the word face-to-face about the wonderful world of Reusable Menstrual Products. There will be various events happening online and around the country that we want people to get involved with and invite you all to find out more, whether you are looking to make the switch yourself or you are looking to help a friend or family member.

There are many benefits to switching to reusable menstrual products including health, financial, environmental and even psychological. Whatever your reason for trying Reusable Menstrual Products you can find out more information on the Go Real website and make sure you are following us on Facebook and Twitter so you don’t miss any of the campaign.

Let’s get talking about Reusable Menstrual Products.”

Rachel is still very much involved in RMP Week. We talk with her most days about ideas and she volunteers on our Facebook page!

Keep an eye out for our news letters and on our Facebook page to keep up with what's happening next week! 

#PeriodTalk #DitchTheDisposables #RMP2015

Defra Call for Evidence - have your say!

The government is currently collecting evidence and views to inform the Waste Prevention Programme for England. The findings from this exercise will be used to support development of the Programme, along with a summary of evidence which will be published in late 2013. 

To submit your evidence go to the Government document online:

Waste Review...Zero waste or Zero Ambition....

I know what I think...it's dissapointing to see that following a submission to DEFRA as part of their Call to Evidence for the waste Review, an Early Day Motion in Parliament proposed by Austin Mitchell on behalf of Go Real and supported by 19 MP's including Caroline Lucas and Zac Goldsmith, lots of lobbying activity by the Real Nappy Alliance and a debate in Parliament on reusable products with specific focus on the impact of disposable nappies, there is no mention at all in the waste Review of the impact of disposable nappies, let alone one use disposable products in their entirety, and no mention of the benefits of reusable nappies and the savings to both local authorities and parents from using them.

I guess the upshot is that the report is already receiving critical feedback for its lack of ambition, with Friends of the Earth already saying it takes waste management back in time and will not deliver the Governments committment to a Zero Waste Economy. 

So whilst real nappies may not feature, nothing much else seems to feature either!

There are a few areas for encouragement and Go Real will be releasing a statement later today/tomorrow on what happens next.

Keep up the good work, plenty to suggest real nappies can still play a part in future waste prevention and nothing to suggest it can't.

Jon Rolls
Chief Exec
Go Real

Lots of New Converts

What has been great about this Real Nappy Week is the amount of people who seem to be trying Real Nappies for the first time and absolutely loving it!!  Charley, who has been taking on the Real Nappy Week challenge is a prime example, she is so smitten she is promoting them to her other reluctant friends.  Then their are the Brew Drinking Thinkings team who tested a whole range of Real Nappies and on the whole were really positive.  It just shows that by being open minded and just giving Real Nappies a try you can surprise yourself! 

So I want everyone that reads this to think of one person who you think should really reconsider their nappy choice, even if they've been reluctant in the past, and then nominate them to the Great Real Nappy Giveaway.  That one lovely free sample dropping through their letterbox might just be the incentive that they need!! 

Day Two and the Daily Mail!

So Real Nappy Week kicked off yesterday, to much excitement and celebration!  Unfortunately it was heralded in by an ill informed Daily Mail article on Local Authority schemes.  The article made a major issue of a relatively small investment in comparison to the amount spent on disposing of single use nappies.

It also referred back to the first EA report which we are all fed up of hearing about (we can feel a theme for next year coming on)!!  For any one brand new to Real Nappies let me reassure you that the most recent research found that you could reduce your environmental impact when compared to using disposables very easily. All you need to do is wash in full loads, use an A rated washing machine, avoid tumble drying and use the nappies again on a second child.  Just one of these actions will mean that you are lowering your global warming impact when compared to disposable use.  Take a look at the info on our website for more detail.

We have responded to the the Daily Mail and you can read our response here.  But it wasn't all bad news, there was lots of positive regional press, there have been features in the major baby magazines and Chris Tarrant also gave us a mention yesterday on Radio Two!

Now, back to Sharing the Secret!!  Our stars today are Janet and Dave who are parents to Rebecca.  Janet chatted to us about her experiences and about how her mum helped her to make her decision whilst Dave gives us the Dad's point of view!  We also spoke to Tracey Smith who after using Real Nappies on her own three children and on her three grandchildren, now volunteers as a Real Nappy Champion.  You can find out more and listen to their interviews here.

The Nappy Giveaway also got off to a great start but there are plenty of them left so do keep referring your friends!  We are currently restricting people to one referral each to allow everyone a chance and please do remember to make sure you add an entry in each box.  Good luck!

I also want to quickly mention our Real Nappy Week challenge volunteer Charley who is now so au fait with Real nappies that she has got the flat nappy folds down!  Her sister Vicky tells me that she is now so convinced by Real Nappies that she is going to start persuading her friends - Now that's what I call successful Sharing the Secret!

Real Nappy Week is Here!!!

Oh my goodness!!!  The build up to Real Nappy Week this year has been busier than ever before with people getting in on the act nice and early and keeping the whole Go Real team incredibly busy for weeks!  So what have we been up to and what's going on now it has all started?!

Well firstly we have been chatting to a whole load of parents about their experiences of using Real Nappies and will be posting the interviews on the Go Real website every day.  We have spoken to a mum with twins, a mum with 10 children(!), a mum who enjoys a giggle whilst changing nappies on the go; and we have spoken to a couple of dads as well!  Today you can hear from Ruth Bevington who uses Real Nappies even though she has no outside drying space and no tumble drier.  We also spoke to Rose who manages a Real Nappy laundry service called Nappy Bliss and Jenny Carr, the afore mentioned mum of ten!

We have got some beautiful babies in our Cute in Cloth slideshow which is part of our competition where you can win a holiday to the Green in Cornwall.  Their parents have been telling us why they love Real Nappies and it is great to see so many different varieties on show!!

Our very exciting nappy giveway is now open so you can refer your friends for a free Real Nappy sample.  Make sure that you have your friends' contact details before entering, otherwise you won't be able to complete the form.  It is an excellent opportunity for people to give Real Nappies a go for free.  We are confident that they will like them just like Charley who has been taking part in the Real Nappy Week challenge with a little help from her sister Vicky.  Charley started off pretty reluctantly but she is now a complete convert!

As well as all of this there are loads of special offers and events taking place throughout the week.