It’s a while since I’ve written anything about nappies, which is a little odd because I never shut up about them in the real world. When it was my turn to host the NCT mums for coffee, I invited the local Nappy Lady along to try and make a few converts.
But I’m not here to write about my love for cloth nappies today, I’m here to mull over the latest promotion for Pampers, who have pledged that:
For every pack of Pampers nappies purchased during November and December, Pampers will donate the funding equivalent to one tetanus vaccination to UNICEF for distribution to the most vulnerable mothers through UNICEF’s immunisation programmes.
Now here’s a dilemma: vaccinations are obviously a good thing for the planet; disposable nappies less so. I’m uninformed about any disadvantage of immunising mothers against tetanus, so I’ll assume that UNICEF know what they’re doing, and any sciencey readers can feel free to discuss the concept below.
Meanwhile, let’s do some maths [which as you know is also a vague area for me; oh boy am I out of my depth tonight].
November plus December = two months = eight weeks Two packs of nappies a week[1] for eight weeks = sixteen packs of nappies One tetanus immunisation costs 2.5 pence 16 x 2.5 = 40 That’s 40 [forty] pence.
That’s 40 [forty] pence donated by Pampers; and sixteen packs of nappies, mummified in stinky nappy sacks, consigned to landfill forever. Cost to the consumer? Over £140.
There’s not much point me banging on about the cost to the planet here, because they’re not targeting the cloth nappy users, they’re just poaching market share from the other disposable brands. And yes, any donation to UNICEF is better than no donation. But it’s a paltry donation, so my proposal is this: buy Own Brand nappies, and buy your christmas cards from UNICEF!
- Or one pack, in which case divide the rest of the numbers by two; what do I know about how many disposables you need in a week? [↩]
hmm, I wrote a comment but no post. Are you moderating?
damn no moderation.
Unless it was because of my link http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/115-look-beyond-gas-mileage-when-making-an-environmental-choice
I wonder if it was because of html tags
No not because of that maybe it was the way I did my link
Damn it wasn’t. That just means I lost a whole comment complimenting you on doing a full value calculation which most people don’t, since most people like to look at one aspect and feel good, not work out where the most good is done.
Anyway I’m tired. Sorry for the blog spam. I did have a nice succicent post I promise.
UNICEF donations aside, I’m amazed anyone buys branded nappies anyway – they are considerably more expensive than own-brand which we have found to be very adequate indeed (no leaks, no sore bottom). And I live in (probably vain) hope that, one day, local authorities here will introduce nappy recycling – if the Aussies and the Dutch can do it, why can’t we?
Hmmm… After all those comments, Adrian, I think Karen might just give moderating a try.
On the subject of the actual post, I was brung up in cloth nappies, and really really want to do the same when I eventually have a bairn of my own. And I’m totally going to buy some cards from UNICEF now too.