Real Nappy calendar 2009

Thirteen babies from across Wales have been selected to star in a calendar to promote the use of real nappies in Wales.

The 2009 calendar forms part of the Real Nappy Campaign to encourage parents to consider using real nappies on their babies.

The winners selected from the competition are Isabel Lewis from Newport, Alexa Scarpato from Newport, Caitlin Gorn from Merthyr Tydfil, twins Lonnie and Romey Davies from Rhyl, Cameron Rowlands from Tywyn, Mali Hattle from Dogellau, Steffan Higgins from Swansea, Korey Jones from Barry, Macey Dibley from Cardiff, Joshua Richardson from Carmarthen, Ben Butcher from Haverfordwest and Keira-Nadine Evans from Milford Haven.

For every potty trained child in Wales, around 5,000 disposable nappies will have been sent to landfill. Using real nappies can be up to £500 cheaper than disposables, so not only are they waste-friendly, but kinder to wallets too.

One of the baby winners’ mums, Josie Scarpato from Newport, said, "I actually started using real nappies when I read about the baby calendar competition in my local paper. I decided to do some more research and then give them a go on my daughter Alexa who’s now 12 months old.

"I was really surprised about how modern real nappies are. They’re easy to use and really easy to wash, I just put them in the washing machine at home. I’ve also found that they are much cheaper than disposable nappies, and I feel good about doing my bit for the environment by not sending waste to landfill."

Rachel Jowitt from Waste Awareness Wales said,

"We’d like to thank all parents who entered their babies into the calendar competition and to congratulate the winners too. 

The real nappy calendar is a great initiative to encourage mums and dads to consider using real nappies on their babies and we hope the calendar will help spread the word about their benefits. "Real nappies have changed a lot since many people’s last experiences of them – they’re now available in bright colours and ‘shaped to fit’. 

They fasten with fabric fasteners or poppers and they’re easy to wash in the washing machine.  Best of all, they’re not just good for the environment but good for wallets too as they can help save up to £500 for the first child they’re used on."

Real Facts on Real Nappies

• In Wales 200million disposable nappies are thrown away each year – 400 nappies every minute
• A potty trained baby will have got through 4,000-6,000 nappies
• One baby’s disposable nappies from its nappy years will fill around 156 black rubbish bags
• Real nappies are available in bright colours and are ‘shaped to fit’.  They fasten with fabric fasteners or poppers and they’re easy to wash in the washing machine.
• Real nappies can help save up to £500 for the first child they’re used on.