So why the sea change? We spoke to Peter Tindall, Co Founder of organic mattress manufacturer Naturalmat to find out: "Like the wider green/eco marketplace it all began with food. Moving away from mass produced processed foods, mums look for healthier and often organic alternatives. This has now extended into many aspects of baby's immediate environment, and one of the most important and rapidly growing areas of this market is in the sleeping environment. Spending so much time asleep and in bed, parents are realising that synthetic mattresses and bedding offer none of the advantages of a greener, more natural alternative."

So, parents are not just concerned about the amount of chemicals present in their toiletry products, but in the clothing and bedding they use too. The Organic Skin Care Directory has found that conventional cotton farming and its harmful effects are causing more concern among parents than ever before, prompting them to search for alternatives. After coffee, it says, cotton is the second most pesticide-saturated crop in the world. Irritations of the skin such as eczema, psoriasis and allergic rashes are occurring more and more nowadays, because of the invention of polyester and chemically treated fabrics. "Reactions of the skin, such as itching and rashes are common in consumers who wear new items of clothing and it can take several washes before chemicals are totally stripped away," it warns.

Amie Nilsson of Merino Kids founded her global sleep solution on the basis of such concerns, when her first daughter Lily developed a terrible heat rash and had problems sleeping. "From research I carried out, I found that from newborn-12 months, babies have trouble regulating temperature whilst they sleep. Synthetic fibres only compound the problem as they do not breathe, but trap moisture. This causes either over heating or a chill zone. Trapped moisture also irritates the skin and creates heat rashes or eczema." Amie explained that synthetics had become the norm because of their anti-flammable properties - but the quality of the material stopped there, she said. "Why would I want to put my child asleep on the same material used to manufacture a surf board? In terms of comfort, it just doesn't make sense. All our range, including our baby sleep bags and swaddles are made with care and attention to detail to provide baby with the best start in life while caring for the future of our environment."

Merino is said to be a ‘wonder fibre' and the perfect fabric to care for young children. "It has been nurtured by nature and ensures a perfect microclimate for baby and infant every time. Merino breathes, removes moisture away from baby's skin and helps regulate temperature," Amie told us.

Many parents have come to prefer organic bedding and as a result, organic products such as blankets, towels, mattresses and sheets can now be found in good retailers like yours. What's more, according to the Consumer Reports Guide to Baby Products, toys made from sustainable sources, including renewable wood with water based finishes, natural and organic plush toys, and toys coloured with vegetable dyes instead of paint, are among the latest toy trends - another area worth expanding into.

The green sector of the UK Nursery Industry has been growing since the early nineties. Companies like Bambino Mio have been educating parents on the benefits of using re-usable nappies over the conventional non eco friendly disposable nappy since 1992 and slowly the cloth nappy market has become big business. Companies like Green Baby have continued the trend with organic balms and body washes, as they too realised the need for more sensitive skin products.

Peter Tindall has observed these changes in the market closely: "Mums have a natural instinct to do their best by baby and this means they spend plenty of time researching what is available. So many nursery products over the past few decades have been driven by price and convenience. Providing products at low prices as quickly as possible, has resulted in swathes of plastic and synthetic toys, furniture, prams, bedding and not least mattresses. Mum's nowadays have better resources to research through the Internet and discover the shortfalls of many of these synthetic alternatives. Mums also tend to be a little older now and as a result are often more discerning about the products they buy. There is a general increase in the awareness of ‘green' issues and this combination is helping to drive more new parents to green alternatives. There is a sense of satisfaction achieved by giving your baby a green and healthy environment while ensuring you are protecting the environment around you for the future."

What about the future of the organic market, will it continue to grow? Toby Massey of Becothings certainly thinks so: "The boom in green baby products stems from a growing demand for eco alternatives. Environmentally friendly and organic products are now seen as the healthier and safer option as parents try to avoid chemicals and additives. Fuelled by scare stories, such as the Chinese baby milk crisis, parents no longer have the same trust in big brands. Parents are looking for wide sources of information and consequently, turning to tools like the Internet. The spread of discussion forums and blogs have become the life support of parents looking for information on the best product. Here at Becothings we constantly receive enquiries and questions from parents all over the world. We've had people from as far away as Brazil asking questions and leaving feedback."

Peter Tindall of Naturalmat agrees: "While organic food has recently taken a battering in the British Press, the demand for organic baby products continue to boom and the market is growing daily. The constant development of new organic products only fuels this awareness and demand. The future for green organic and eco products in the nursery market is here to stay and has a long way to grow yet."

Over at Becothings, Toby believes that the future of eco friendly products lay in more cost competitive products: "Unfortunately the green trend has all too often been accompanied by a tradition of charging the consumer a premium. For years now manufacturers have seen eco products as an opportunity to charge an extra 30%. This perception has led to fears that in today's recession green products might start to fail. Our experience at Becothings could not be any more different. By challenging convention, we have worked hard to price our products competitively. Our BecoPotty for example, retails at £7.99 and is therefore far cheaper than other similar products on the market. By being so competitive, the consumer has a simple choice - they can either have an environmentally friendly potty or the old plastic style potty, and without the cost difference the decision appears too easy. In the past 6 months the potty has seen huge success. With sales up each month, we are now preparing to launch a further two new colours as well as two new product lines."

The difficulty for the consumer is that there is so much conflicting information nowadays, with some sources suggesting that products marketed as ‘natural' may not be chemical free after all. When selecting products for retail it is vital that you have a full understanding of how a product promoted as natural, organic or environmentally friendly is produced, so that customers opting to ‘go green' can do so with confidence.

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend

Bookmark this

---