Hiya! I'm Freya, mum to 7 month old Finley, who has been in cloth nappies since the day he was born. I teamed up with Kate, mum to 2 year old Tom, after we realized there was nowhere to buy a range of cloth nappies locally in Bristol or the surrounding areas. We realized that a lot of parents don't use cloth nappies simply because they don't know about them, and many that do end up giving up as they can't get the support that they need. We want to give parents a place for all things cloth related, offering a smooth start into cloth nappies.
Myself and my partner Joe decided to cloth nappy Finley after realizing just how many disposables go into landfill within the first 3 years of a child's life - it's around 5,000 disposables per child! Kate and her partner Chris began at just 3 weeks old for similar reasons - not to mention the cost savings! We were very fortunate that we had the opportunity to give cloth nappies a go and also found all the support that we needed to continue them with joy.
Sadly a lot of parents don't know that cloth nappies are an option or they don't know where to go when they need advice. Old-fashioned stereotypes of terry squares, safety pins and wool pants are long gone. We need to give modern cloth nappies a home in Bristol.
So What's The Plan?
We want to show people the fun, eco-friendly, and most importantly EASY world of cloth nappies! We plan on doing this by bringing a local cloth nappy shop to Bristol and giving parents a place to browse, buy and get friendly advice on cloth nappies. There currently isn't a single dedicated cloth nappy shop in Bristol, despite the thousands of Bristol parents active on various cloth nappy groups across social media. The Friendly Eco would be the only of it's kind in not just Bristol but the surrounding areas too, providing local parents with access to everything they need right on their doorstep.
We are also teaming up with Bristol Cloth Nappy Library to offer the best impartial support that we can, with the hopes of becoming a venue for their various classes. This will allow parents to trial what works for them before buying and understand the ins-and-outs of cloth bumming!
Products we would like to stock:
On top of a large selection of cloth nappies, we will also stock ethical clothing from bright and colourful scandi brands which are perfect for kids and adults alike. And there will be a section for other eco parenting products such as cloth wipes, shampoo bars, reusable sanitary products, wet bags, sustainable wooden toys and wax food wraps (to name just a few!).
Some of the brands we hope to stock include:
- Tots Bots
- Bambino Mio
- Close Pop In
- Little Lamb
- Cheeky Wipes
- Little Green Radicals
- Duns Sweden
- Maxomorra
- Local WAHM (work at home mum) brands
- And more...
What will the money raised be used for?
Money raised during crowdfunding will go towards the many initial startup costs of the shop, such as the first few months rent, stock, a till system and shop fittings to name just a few.
By having a few months rent upfront, we can focus on keeping our prices competitive whilst we are still finding our feet. Stock is our biggest expense, at around £6,500 to fill our shelves with a good selection of various nappy prints, types and brands. The rest of the money will be used for shop fittings, a till system, a comfy baby feeding area, and all of the little things in-between that we need to open the perfect shop.
How can you help?
It may take a village to raise a child, but it takes a city to start a cloth nappy shop! Which is why we need your help to open The Friendly Eco Bristol by donating here on crowdfunder and sharing this page on social media so that all of your friends can join in too!
Thank you, and hopefully we will see you in our shop very soon!