Nappy Story from Today Tonight

[Bronnie]

Putting nappies to the test
BROADCAST DATE: June 17, 2004
When it comes to sheer value, comfort and convenience, it seems nothing beats disposable nappies. Today Tonight puts some to the test.

These days it's no longer a question of choosing between cloth diapers or throw-away nappies.
The disposable variety now account for 90 per cent of nappies sold – that's a staggering 800 million nappies per year, making them the biggest selling item after Coca-Cola and tobacco products.
There are several brands on the market to choose from, from the more expensive up-market types to basic and cheaper generics … but is there all that much of difference when it comes to performance?
Today Tonight went to find out with the help of four mums.
It can cost families up to $3000 per child for nappies over the average two and a half year period from birth, so for Tara Johnston and 16-month-old son Aiden the bottom line is savings.
"I use Bi-Lo nappies. I can get them where I shop, and they're good value for money when you're using up to 10 nappies a day," Tara said.
Huggies – the leading brand – the nappy of choice for Karen Fothergill and four-month-old daughter Laura.

"I would normally use Huggies. I like them because they take the water from babies bottom, the cloth covers, they're re-fasten-able which is great," Karen said. "I find if they're very cheap they last for a few minutes.
Cathy White also prefers the low cost generics.
"$40 for Huggies nappies as opposed to $20 a week for Bi-Lo nappies, $20 a day at pre-school – that's basically the reason," Cathy said.
And our final testers – Marianne Holstein and her nine-month-old daughter Lauren – are big Huggies fans too.
"Leakage is the main problem because you have to change the whole outfit." Marianne said. "Absorbency is the most important thing we look for in a nappy."
Our mums tested the four top-selling brands of disposable nappies over a week – Huggies, Kimbies VIPs, Snugglers and Target's Daytime Nappies.



The mums scored them for absorbency, dryness, fit, durability and fastening.
"Surprisingly I found the quality among the four nappies we tried I found the results were fairly consistent," Tara said.
"The Huggies, whilst excellent, did leave a residue from the absorbent gel on his skin after they'd been on overnight."

Comfort was crucial for Cathy White.
"The tabs were easy to open, they were easy to put on, it didn't leak, it lasted a whole night including a poo," Cathy said. "The other three were the same really."
As for Karen Fothergill, it came down to absorption.
"I like the fact they took everything away so if she was wet, it wasn't wet on her bottom," Karen said.
Dependency was the deciding factor for Marianne Holstein.
"I had a couple of leaks with the other nappies and I also found one of the tabs tore off on one of the nappies," Marianne said.
"They're just really dependable nappies so I wouldn't change the nappy that I use but I might try the Target nappy during the day - that's one consideration I might make."
Here are the results from our test ... the market leader Huggies had an impressive 91 per cent approval rating among our mums, then came the value-for-money Target brand, followed by the Snugglers and then Kimbies.
And some parting advice from one of our testing mums …
"Do try other nappies because you might find other expensive nappies are not always the best," Tara said.
Watch video

[SungaiKecil]

I have to add as well.....there was one mum who was commenting on how disposables last 12 hours without a leak!
I'm sorry but if you are leaving your child for 12 hours without changing its nappy then you really have to question whether you are dong your job as a parent properly.
I think a lot of mums get tricked into believing that you can leave a disposbale on for longer than a cloth nappy. Not realising that their child is spending hours sitting in their own urine and faeces. If you aren't changing your child every two to three hours, regardless of how full the nappy is then maybe you should be looking for another job.
I am a disposable user (not for much longer though) and I am horrified that some parents seem to justify leaving their children for long periods of time without a nappy change.
Sorry this is probably way off topic but I think that there needs to be more education about the correct use of disposable nappies. (and I use the term "correct" very tentatively).
Just my $0.02 worth anyway...thought the report was nothing more than an advertisement for the 4 largest disposable nappy maunfacturers...there was no actual quality or education in the report. Today Tonight....not ever!

[Jakaluma]

And all these disposable nappies will still be around when the baby's great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great grandchildren are born. :(

[hanabi]

Correct usage AND correct disposal.

I'll bet if disposable nappy users had to store their nappy waste in their own back yards they'd A: use much fewer of them and B: dispose of them in appropriately sealed plastic bags instead of leaving them to fall open in the bin or, even worse, on the ground where they leave them!!

Was it Kelli who christened them DISGUSTABLES? Too right!

I think it's the high price of the nappies that leaves mothers thinking it's okay to leave use fewer by leaving them on longer.

Jodie

[harribrown]

I saw that report and was also horrified about the 12 hours comment.

there was one mum who was commenting on how disposables last 12 hours without a leak!

How smelly would that little tot be? And how much chemical residue from the plastics would be absorbing into the skin.
I was annoyed that there was no mention at all of using cloth nappies or how much landfill all those nappies amount to over the
2 1/2 years of use. Seems like very few mums actually realise what they are costing the earth every time they throw out a disposable nappy.

[hanabi]

Perhaps we should all write and complain!! I'd love to see an informative report on the ease of using cloth nappies these days!

[lizlea]

Ummm, not to stand up for disposables at all, but some babies/toddlers do sleep 12 hours at night (certainly not mine,lol). So perhaps, for some, leaving a nappy for 12 hours is not unreasonable. I for one am not going to wake a sleeping toddler to change a nappy.

[fayble]

I thinks it's only one manufaturing company maybe two.
Huggies, snugglers and VIP's are all made my Kimberley Clarke. I'm not sure about the Target brand.
I loved the opening line. " When it comes to sheer value, comfort and convenience, it seems nothing beats disposable nappies."
For a start cloth are cheaper in the long run, they are more comfortable because their is no plastic rub and I can put a fitted cloth on a wriggly toddler quicker then a disposable....and I have never had a tab break on a cloth.

[Bronnie]

The ladies from ozcloth nappies group have sent an avalanche of complaints about this story.

How about this one from Kimberly Clarke

Claim for textile cash no bum rap, says nappy multinational.

By Ian Gerard.
318 words
20 May 2003
The Australian
5
English
(c) 2003 Nationwide News Proprietary Ltd

THERE were plenty of nappies but not a baby in sight yesterday as the
multinational Kimberly Clark took its fight for textile industry assistance
to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Lawyers for the US-owned company, with annual sales in excess of $700
million, presented the nappies to the tribunal in Sydney claiming they
should be classified as textiles.

Kimberly Clark wants a slice of the almost $700 million the Department of
Industry has set aside for local textile manufacturers struggling to compete
with reduced tariffs and low-cost overseas firms.

The Government's Textile, Clothing and Footwear Strategic Investment
Program, which was established in 2000 to run until 2005, makes all textile
producers eligible for grants.

Counsel for the company, David Yates SC, said the methods by which two
different types of fabric were brought together to form one combined
material for nappies and other products - textile finishing - meant Kimberly
Clark met the assistance criteria.

"Not only has there been eligible textile manufacturing but there also has
been significant textile finishing," Mr Yates said.

"This is absolutely indispensable so far as making what each of those
products is. There would not be these products if they did not have these
particular end uses imparted by textile, clothing, footwear activities on
the factory floor at time of manufacture."

Kimberly Clark employs more than 1800 people, mainly in South Australia and
NSW, and claims up to 67 per cent of its profits are from textile-based
garments.

"Most of its non-management employees are employed under (the) textile,
clothing, footwear award and are members of the Textile Clothing Footwear
Union of Australia," Mr Yates said.

Kimberly Clark claims it manufactures "non-traditional" textiles primarily
in South Australia and NSW to produce bed protection products, adult
incontinence and feminine hygiene products that are sold both domestically
and overseas.

[hanabi]

I accidentally put a disposable nappy through the wash once (inside a nappy bag) - lemme tell ya' there ain't no textile in a disposable nappy. They disintegrate like tissues and leave a plastic inner and outer liner.

Not convinced.

Jodie