I’ve been invited to a baby shower on Saturday and been told that the parents-to-be really don’t need any more clothes for the soon expected bundle of joy. So while thinking through practical alternative options for gifts I hit on the idea of an “Eco-Friendly Baby Sample Pack”, a green version of what Bounty and Emma’s Diary present you on the birth of your baby here in the UK.
After the birth of my youngest child a little under two years ago, the friendly Bounty lady appeared at my hospital bed, hoping to coerce me to part with personal information in exchange for a (plastic) bag of less that desirable samples (for which the various advertisers/samplers had presumably paid Bounty large quantities of dosh to do). Seeing what the new mum in the bed next to me was taking out of her pack (washing powder and fabric softener samples, disposable nappy samples, plastic nappy bags and some Johnson & Johnson products, etc.) I politely said “no thanks” and kept my personal information to myself.
Fortunately there are organisations out there, BookStart for example, with the awareness to be handing out their wares in a re-usable cotton bag. A bag that comes in very handy over the following months for carting around spare nappies and various odds and ends required to keep baby happy whilst out and about. A longer lasting bag carrying a message that will be seen over and over again is an environmentally-sound idea that benefits parents and the organisations hoping to reach them.
Perhaps in the near future we will see a new-mum sample pack being handed out by midwives that will consist of a re-usable bag filled with baby toiletry samples from companies like Halos ‘n’ Horns, Green Baby and Weleda, washing powder and fabric softener samples from Ecover or Bio-D, and a real nappy sample (or at very least a sample of one of the greener disposable/compostable brands).
Until then I resolve to provide my pro-creating friends with my own version of the baby sample pack, including the most environmentally-friendly, toxin-free and biodegradable baby products that I can find.