Sustainable(ish) [031] PLASTIC FREE PERIODS AND WIPES WITH SUSIE HEWSON FROM NATRACARE
If you've not got time to listen to the podcast or read the whole post, scroll to the end for the 'take home' points!
When I was first approached to ask if I would be interested in interviewing the Susie Hewson, the founder of Natracare about their new safe to flush wipes my instant response was a resounding "No".
I felt quite strongly that we should be discouraging the use of single use wipes, and also that marketing a flushable wipe would confuse the message that is starting to filter down that wipes should very definitely NOT be flushed.
But I decided to do a bit of digging and a bit of research and it dawned on me that if I’m going to brand and label myself as ‘sustainanble(ish)' then these wipes are probably a very good example of that sustainable(ish) approach.
We went cold turkey on baby wipes during our year buying nothing new and I haven’t used them for at least 6 years, so it can be done, and it can be done with young children in tow. The answer is reusable wipes and companies like Cheeky Wipes make it super easy now for people to make the switch. And remember that we’re not just talking baby wipes here, we’re talking make up wipes, cleaning wipes, pet wipes, you name it, there’s probably a wipe for it. And for each of those scenarios, reusables will work just as well and in an ideal world disposable wipes wouldn’t be needed.
But I’m also a realist and I know that my little social media bubble, my FB group, is not representative of the vast majority of society and that the wipe genie is not going to go back into the bottle anytime soon. So actually, maybe there is a need for a better type of wipe – a wipe that doesn’t contain plastic (as all other wipes do) and that has been through a rigorous certification process and independently deemed by the water authorities to be safe to flush.
I would always encourage the use of reusable products over single use, but I also know that none of us is perfect. That there might be the odd occasion when we need to reach for a packet of wipes, whether we’re at a festival (if you’re much hipper and cooler than me), if you’re on holiday without any washing facilities and young messy kids, or maybe you're just getting started, you're a new mum and while you can just about get your head around resusable wipes at home, it all becomes a bit much when you start to think about leaving the house. Now at least there's a choice and a wipe that gives you an option other than to add another piece of plastic into the environment.
I’m fully expecting a bit of a backlash from putting this out there. To maybe be accused of not being ‘green enough'. For advocating disposable products. But please, before you write me an angry e-mail or leave a disparaging comment on social emdia, listen right to the end. I came away from my conversation with Susie with a changed mind and a respect for her and her brand and what they are tring to achieve. As Susie says, she set up Natracare to be a campaigning brand, one that drives standards up, shows what can be done and invites the rest of the industry to step up and do the same. We need more brands like this. Who are looking beyond profit and thinking carefully about their impact on the planet, and thinking about how to create better products for people are starting to think about sustainable(ish) changes they can make.
So please do take a listen, with an open mind, and ideally a cuppa and a piece of cake. Enjoy.
TLDL?
This is internet speak for "Too long, didn't listen" (it's usually TLDR - too long didn't read). I had to look it up.
In my mind you all eagerly await each new episode of the podcast and sit down in your favourite chair with a cuppa and a piece of cake in blissful peach and quiet to listen, or you're listening while you're out striding around some rugged landscape or other with your photogenic dog running along at your side.
In reality, we're all time poor and I concede that you might not have a free 45 minutes without extraneous noise at any point other than when you're asleep. So here are the take home nuggets:
- Conventional period products contain plastic - a typical sanitary towel can be up to 90% plastic, and a standard pack of sanitary towels contains the same amount of plastic as 4 carrier bags.
- Each DAY 700k panty liners, 2.5 million tampons and 1.4 million sanitary towels are flushed down the loo in the UK. This is bad.
It costs the water companies millions of pounds each year to clear them from the water treatement plants and causes sewerage blockages. They can also end up being washed out to sea and cause problems for marine life, as well as being hugely unpleasant when one floats past you when you're paddling at the beach.
- Conventional wipes are made of plastic. They will not biodegrade or break downing the sewerage system.
- The only things that should be flushed down the loo are the '3 Ps' - pee, poo and paper
- Early in 2019 Water UK introduced a new 'fine to flush' standard that has been developed by the water industry (who have a vested interest in these things as they are the ones forking out the cash to clear up the blockages) - the wipes industry had a bit of a paddy and said it would be impossible to create a wipe that would pass.
- Natracare's Safe to Flush wipes are the first (and only so far) wipes to pass this new standard - the wipes are made from paper and will break down fully in the sewerage system and are home compostable.
- I'm not on commission (as someone on FB suggested!) I just think that we need to provide people with choices. If people aren't ready for, or able to use, reusable wipes 100% of the time for whatever reason, up until now they had no choice but to reach for a plastic based wipe and add to the plastic pollution issues. Now there is a choice, and Natracare's aim is that it forces up the standards within the whole wipes industry.
That might have been TLDR but hopefully you get the essence!