#Clothbummums: Strategies for increasing the adoption of cloth nappies in the UK

A co-creation workshop was held at Edinburgh Napier University on 1st July 2025 as part of an ongoing research initiative into cloth nappy engagement. The workshop brought together key stakeholders—including parents, businesses, NGOs, social enterprises and Zero Waste Scotland—to collaboratively explore strategies for increasing the adoption of reusable nappies. The day consisted of three fundamental sessions. Session 1 (Research Overview) involved both academics sharing research insights from their recently published work, highlighting consumer well-being as an integral part of successful cloth nappy engagement. They showcased how fashionable products and the processes involved in using them boost a sense of control and mastery, thereby enhancing well-being as a result. Session 2 (Mapping Barriers & Drop-Off points) involved a co-created activity identifying key barriers and drop-off points, including key challenges such as upfront costs, time and effort, societal perceptions and pressures and knowledge gaps relating to effective use. Importantly, this cocreated activity enabled us to shed light on often-neglected actors in this process, identifying a new user group – individuals and organisations that provide guidance and support on cloth nappy usage and the unique challenges they face. Finally, the session provided a comprehensive view of the journey of cloth nappy engagement, starting much earlier than previously thought, at the very beginning of pregnancy, with key points along the way, including the 12-week and 20-week scans, as well as the unique needs at each of these stages. Session 3 (Designing Interventions for the Toolkit) involved an evaluation of key existing toolkits and user manuals related to cloth nappy usage, gathering insights from all stakeholders on what works and what doesn’t for different types of users. Based on the insights from this workshop and the research we shared with the various stakeholders, we were able to identify the following gaps in existing approaches: (1) little to no discussion of well-being throughout the cloth nappy-related guides and communications, (2) a general sacrifice-based view of cloth nappies focusing on saving money or saving on CO2 emissions with little focus on benefits, and (3) no insights or addressing of what potential users worry about the most: the extra chores. Recommendations from this workshop call for improved support, access, and guidance on cloth nappy resources across the UK. The workshop piloted a multistakeholder co-created intervention to increase cloth nappy engagement, which will become the stepping stone for further collaborative development and implementation of an accessible cloth nappy toolkit which addresses the challenges faced by different cloth user groups.