NAPPY RASH
0 Comments | Evening Standard; London (UK), Dec 7, 2009 | by Charlotte Ross
POOR Ed Miliband. He should have known better than to air his nappy knowledge with the Mumsnet matriarchs last week. What they don’t know about compostable baby wipes you could write on the back of a Jaffa Cake (his favourite biscuit).
The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change got into deep doo-doo by admitting to using disposable nappies to swaddle the bottom of his sixmonth-old son Daniel, saying: “An Environment Agency report from 2005 said that when you take into account the use of energy in washing and drying nappies, it evens out.”
Well, four years is a long time in the evolution of the diaper, Ed. Real nappies are now not only markedly greener but a whole lot more desirable than in 2005. In fact, mothers are now buying washables as a fashion statement — earning eco-points comes a poor second to the style status of baby’s bottom.
There’s a whole menu of nappies to choose from, with melt-in-the- mouth names like Cushie Tushies, which is launching a bumblebee- striped one in January, Swaddlebees, Lollipop Pop’n'gro and Bumgenius.
But top of bots for London’s yummiest mummies is the Itti Bitti D’lish, a softas-velvet nappy that comes in jewel-like colours. “Itti Bitti has a massive following,” says Tom Scambler, spokesman for London’s stylish eco-shop Green Baby. “People go crazy for them because of the design. They love the colours and the soft minky fabric.”
When I, as an idealistic first-time mum-to-be, recently sought real nappy advice at the Angel branch of Green Baby, I was told that since their introduction to the UK from Australia, chichi Islington mothers can’t get enough of the Bitti D’lish, and the most mouthwatering colours keep selling out. “We sold 352 Itti Bittis at our launch in March, ” says Scambler. “Last month we sold 1,008 of them wholesale and online, not including our shops.”
On looks alone, I am convinced enough to try them. Even though a single nappy costs Pounds 14 (and I’ll need about a dozen). One style maven and mum described them as fast becoming “the Bugaboo of nappies”, while a designconscious dad complimented the Bitti D’Lish as being such “a metrosexual diaper you can happily put your baby boy in a shocking pink one”.
How do they measure up, convenience-wise, to their disposable counterparts? Forget all notions of scratchy towelling and big pins. Today’s real nappy is a cuddly, quick drying, all-inone with popper fastening that you can sling in the washing machine without even soaking. “They are as close as you can get to a disposable nappy while still being reusable,” says Tom Scambler of the Itti Bitti, which doesn’t require outer plastic pants. “They are slimmer than ordinary washable nappies and easier to fit under normal clothing
diaper cakes
Posted on September 7th 2010 in
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