Sustainable initiatives in the baby market
Looking at the clothing label to see if its origin is stated, doing the shopping with as little packaging as possible, looking for alternatives for energy, using washable diapers. More and more consumers are concerned with sustainability and buying green products. Is the trade responding sufficiently to this?
Sustainability: more than sustainable materials
Sustainability goes far beyond the use of sustainable materials such as PET bottles and organic cotton that are used in fabrics, or planting a tree at the birth of a child and reusing packaging material. We are increasingly seeing new initiatives coming onto the market that relate to second-hand trading, leasing or exchanging. Instead of buying and owning products, a sharing economy is gradually emerging. Certain categories of baby articles, with their short use time, are also very suitable for leasing and reuse. Therefore, below, to inspire sustainable initiatives and interviews with sustainable entrepreneurs in our market.
Second hand fairs in Belgium
Second-hand trade fairs, such as those held in Belgium by the Gezinsbond (organisation representing families), are held on a regular basis. Volunteers from almost 900 local groups annually organise 850 family fairs in Flanders and Brussels, says Kurt Jacobs of the Gezinsbond.be. Not only are families being helped to save on their family budget and is it a meeting place between families and generations, but one of the goals is also to work towards a more sustainable world.
Get some children’s clothes
Outgrown children’s clothing? Since 2012, consumers have been able to use this site to exchange children’s items that are too small for a package that suits the current age of their children. From children’s clothing, toys, books, accessories for the children’s room, but also strollers, car seats and playpens.
Because the voluntary organisation noticed that consumers would like to see the products for a moment, it was decided in 2014 to organise various exchange points in the country. Krijgdekleertjes.nl
Babytheek (Babytheque): making sustainable baby equipment accessible to the general public
Another good example of a sustainable economy is the Babytheque in Belgium. Used baby equipment is not thrown away but given a new lease of life. A membership is not only reserved for those on a tight budget, but the Babytheque is open to all young parents, grandparents and grandmothers, compound families, single people, rich or poor. Anyone can become a member of this library for baby equipment. The organization wants to offer a solution for people who live small. You borrow what you need and what is no longer needed can be returned. At the same time, people learn more about sharing products instead of owning things. And it’s a meeting place for young parents. babytheek.be
Wheely
A little shocked by all the stuff you have to buy when a child is born and the space it takes up, Piet Huige set up Wheely. You can conclude a lease contract with Wheely for a new or second-hand stroller. So far, that’s only possible for Greentom. Initially, only the frame with carrycot is sent, after six months the seat is sent free of charge and the customer can return the carrycot in the same packaging. gowheely.com
Leasing children’s furniture and wooden toys via Mr Beetle
Astrid Oversier is the founder of the rental platform Mr Beetle. Parents can rent children’s furniture and wooden toys here. The idea for this platform was born five years ago after the birth of her eldest son. ‘After 4 months my son slept in his own room and we put his cradle away. After six months, he didn’t fit into the Tummy Tub anymore. And after his first birthday we bought a child safety seat and the Maxi-Cosi was no longer needed. We put the Maxi-Cosi away and it was placed next to the box, the camp bed and the rocker because we didn’t need it anymore either. I didn’t realize during my pregnancy that we would only use a lot of these children’s items for such a short time “And certainly not that this stuff would be in my shed longer than it was being used.’
She’ll tell you how Mr. Beetle works. ‘Mr Beetle is an online rental platform where parents can rent children’s furniture and wooden toys. As soon as a child loses interest in the toy or the toy is no longer in line with his or her development, the articles can be sent back to Mr. Beetle. “All products are neatly cleaned and are returned to the assortment. She’s continues: In addition to the fact that renting is much more sustainable, it also offers other advantages. As a parent, you don’t have to spend any more time selling, giving away or taking away the old children’s items. It’s also nice and easy that you can return the stuff, so you have more (storage) space.’
Leasing baby equipment at BabyLoop
Ilse Habraken, founder of BabyLoop, investigated the concept of leasing baby equipment during her son’s leave. ‘Since you only need a large part of the baby equipment such as co-sleeper, baby’s nest, etc. for a short period of time, you can easily use your products several times, it costs a lot of money and we live in our Amsterdam apartment of 80m2 without any storage space for all the baby equipment, I knew that there had to be a smarter way to deal with this problem! And BabyLoop – the sustainable initiative to reuse baby products – was born. What I really like is that in BabyLoop I can express my passion for sustainability, innovation and entrepreneurship!’, says Ilse.
How BabyLoop works
She explains how her concept works: ‘BabyLoop leases baby products to families. By giving our products multiple lives, we ensure that our baby products are used optimally. If one item is used by more than one child, we believe we are contributing to a better world! If a product is no longer suitable for leasing, we will give it to a charity such as BecauseWeCarry or Stichting Bullenbank. The assortment consists of baby equipment that you use during the first year of your life and that takes up a lot of space (such as a playpen or bath) or is expensive to buy (co-sleeper and bouncer). We select products on the basis of quality and the use of sustainable materials.
It works as follows: Consumers select products they want to receive, new or refurbished, then schedule the delivery and receive it at home. After use, the products can be sent back to us. The products are thoroughly cleaned and checked and redirected to other families. Our revenue model is very simple: p (price) x q (quantity). The lease price for the baby products x the number of months you lease our products. The turnover covers the costs.’
Circle of Parents makes second-hand children’s clothing the standard
A year ago, three students David Soester, Julius van Dijk and Lucas van Straalen met in a study programme at the University of Amsterdam. ‘We talked about the idea of renting out football boots to children. We all played soccer and remembered very well that our parents always had to buy expensive, new soccer shoes because we had already grown out of our shoes. This could be a lot more durable and cheaper, we thought. But we discovered that the problem was much bigger, we kept hearing that parents were not satisfied with the current alternatives to buying or selling second-hand children’s clothing. More than a hundred interviews with parents later, we decided to create an online platform where parents can easily, quickly and safely buy and sell second-hand children’s clothing.’
Online platform for used clothing
Selling is easy, says David. ‘You can upload an item of clothing within one minute, take a picture, fill in information about the item and you’re done. Once another parent has decided to order your clothes, all you have to do is print out the shipping label and take the package to the post office.
Buying works exactly the way that parents are used to in a first-class webshop,’ says David. ‘Parents quickly find what they’re looking for through the filter system. In addition, a buyer is always sure of the quality of clothing on the platform. Partly because of the review system and our check, there is always a good offer on the website. Should something go wrong, the buyer will get his or her money back. Circle of Parents works with a commission model, which means that sellers give up 10% of the sales amount and buyers pay €2 service costs.’
Italy takes first step with anti-abandon law for car seats
We know the horror stories and yet it happens every year: children who do not die from an accident but from overheating because they have been left in the car. How can we stop these fatalities? Italy is the first country to take preventive measures.
Why is leaving a child in the car so dangerous?
Leaving a child in a car is extremely dangerous; the temperature in the car can rise 10 to 15 degrees every 15 minutes. Opening a window helps a little, but has little effect on lowering the temperature. In addition, a child’s body reacts very differently to heat than an adult body. As a result of water reserves, the temperature of a child’s body rises 3 to 5 times faster. And what many people don’t know: overheating can occur within minutes, and the consequences of dying as a result of this in 2 hours.
Another misunderstanding is that accidents of this kind only happen in southern countries. Overheating may just as well happen on days when it’s 22 degrees Celsius outside. Even at this temperature, the inside of a car can quickly rise to 47 degrees Celsius! Especially with our rising temperatures in Northern Europe, we have to be careful.
Figures leaving children alone in a car
Between 2007 and 2009, 26 such cases were known in France and Belgium in Europe, including 7 fatal accidents. Of these, 54% had deliberately left their child in the car, while 46% had forgotten to drop off their child at the agreed location.
Since 1998, it has been recorded in the United States how often children are left behind in cars that are too hot. There have been 800 cases since 1998. Last summer a twin died; their father, who wanted to drive home at the end of the working day, noticed that both of his one-year-old children were still in the back seat. Striking detail: since children have to be transported in the back seat as a result of the front airbag, the number of children who die from overheating has only increased!
The reason parents leave their child in the car
Safety authorities in the United States have tried to make parents and carers more aware of the risks of leaving a child in the car through TV, advertising campaigns, leaflets, etc., but with little result. In 2010, 49 children died after being left in the car and in 2018 this rose to 52 cases, according to KidsAndCars.org.
Tips given to parents
What tips are given to parents now?
- Closing your car door with a remote control is not the same as putting your key in the lock. Get used to looking inside the car before you lock up. Check if all family members are out of the car, even if you think you’re driving alone.
- Put whatever you need on the back seat, such as your smartphone, handbag, a shoe or your lunchbox.
- Put a cuddly toy in the baby car seat, and put it on the co-driver’s seat when your baby is sitting in the car seat as a reminder.
- Provide a daily reminder on your computer or phone to make sure you have dropped your child off.
- Agree with the daycare centre that they will call you if your child has not been dropped off.
- And finally, call the emergency number immediately if you see a child sitting in a locked car.
Leaving a child in the car can happen to anyone
Accidents happen, especially when parents and carers are involved in routine activities. For example when they are on their way from work and to the shelter and back again. Parents who have suffered this can count on criticism. How can you, as a parent, forget your child? Yet it is something that can happen to anyone, specialists say. The VPRO (Dutch broadcasting organisation) broadcast a documentary some time ago: Death of a Child in which fathers and mothers who had been affected by this were followed. An expert explains that it has to do with our memories. We have a memory to plan and a memory to do things on autopilot, such as grabbing keys, opening the door and driving. Who amongst us hasn’t (almost) left his cup of coffee on the car roof at some point of time? When a child is sleeping in his car seat and the parent does everything on autopilot, such as driving to work, it can happen that a child is forgotten. The memory of the autopilot (the basal ganglia) suppresses all other memories, even when it comes to something as important as your child in the back seat.
What can the car seat industry do?
An alarm system offers a solution and initiatives are already in place. This varies from mats with sensors under the seat or sensors in the seat belt. Combined with an alarm and/or push message on your smartphone if you are too far away from the car seat while there is still a child in it. But not all technology works flawlessly and not all systems work on both Apple and Android.
Examples of Car Alert systems:
Cybex/goodbaby introduced the Cybex SensorSafe which consists of a clip that can be attached to the child harness belt. Suitable for Cloud, Aton and Sirona. It gives a signal to the smartphone if it is removed from the car and the device is not turned off.
The Evenflo SensorSafe clip is a similar system.
Chicco has an integrated system of sensors that are processed on the inside of some of their car seats.
Separate systems have the advantage that they are not dependent on any type of car seat. Like BlueBeep that took a first step on the market with the Car Seat Guardian. It is attached to the inside of the harness’s soft shoulder pad and triggers an alarm if the child is not (properly) locked in the car seat, if the child tries to get out of the harness straps, and if parents are too far away from the car.
Remmy is an Italian brand that emits an audible signal when the car’s engine stops and the weight of the car seat does not change.
And the Tippy Smart Pad works with a mat and sensors. An alarm sounds if you are too far away from the car and the weight on the pad does not change.
The iRemind Car Seat Alarm uses a pad with sensors under the seat and an iPhone app to help parents remember.
However, car manufacturers must also take responsibility. We only know two: Nissan Pathfinder and the Hyndai’Santa Fe have a Rear Door Alert system (RDA). If a back door is opened at the beginning of the trip, the car will signal that you should also check the back door when you are in the parking lot.
Italian anti-abandon law enters into force in 2020
Italy is the first government to take action against such accidents. The ‘anti-abandon’ law will enter into force on 6 November 2019. The industry will, of course, need time to produce car seats or equipment that meet these requirements. That is why 120 more days will be given until it becomes a legal obligation, at the end of February 2020.
Content of the anti-abandon law for car seats
The content of the anti-abandon law is as follows:
The driver of M1, N1, N2 and N3 vehicles, registered in Italy or abroad and driven by Italian nationals, when transporting a child under four years of age who is restrained in a car seat in accordance with paragraph 1, shall be required to use a special alarm system to prevent abandonment of children in the car, in accordance with the technical construction and functional specifications laid down by decision of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport. (Article 1a of Article 172 of the amended Road Code). The article in Il Sole 24 Ore gives a good overview of the mainly technical content of the decree. For example, parents get 30 euros back from the government if they buy such a proven alarm system. This can be integrated in the car seat, but also in the base of the car alarm such as the alarm if the car belts are not used, or it can be an independent system or device.
Requirements for the Car Alert systems
The current prices of independent systems range from 40 to 75 euros. There are various requirements for these devices. For example, they may only be sold with a declaration of agreement from the manufacturer or authorised representative established in the European Union. Other requirements include, but are not limited to: The devices must be switched on automatically without any additional action on the part of the parent and must be equipped with sensors that recognise the child’s presence. It needs to send a signal to the driver that the device has been activated and the alarm shall be set so as to draw the driver’s attention immediately, by visual and acoustic or physical signals inside and outside the vehicle.
Sources: childsafetyeurope.org, Kidsandcars.org, ENPC
How to reach the millennial mum? Part 2
How do you go about it if you want to work as a brand with a mum influencer (or mumfluencer)? You can, of course, collaborate with a few big names that have 50,000 to 100,000 followers, but there is a lot to be said for working with nano or micro influencers!
A collaboration with influential mum influencer can, due to the large number of followers they have, provide you with immediate and fast brand awareness. But there are a few snags. Brands are looking for real brand ambassadors who write credibly for their supporters, but personal contact is often difficult because they work through a manager. Moreover, there is a considerable price tag.
Authentic articles please
Nano influencers (up to 5,000 followers) and micro influencers (between 5,000 and 50,000 followers) not only look at the euros but are often passionate about what they do (blogging and instagrams) and very important: they make authentic articles. You can easily get in touch with them, build a bond with them, they are much cheaper and are also open for barter deals or: in exchange for a product they write an article.
Miriam Goudsmit (meervanmir.eu) and Fleur Veldkamp (mamasliefste.nl) are the initiators of the blogger tour at the Negenmaandenbeurs in Amsterdam . Some 20 ‘smaller’ bloggers are connected to it. Miriam: ‘We take them with us, bring them into contact with brands and then they have to do it themselves. A blogger list is available for that purpose.
Advantages of working with small influencers
What are the advantages of working with smaller influencers, we asked her? ‘Especially the cost’, Miriam answers. There are great influencers and they have a wide reach, but I sometimes wonder how unique their content is. Smaller influencers write more from their own perspective, not only for commerce, and spend more time on it. It happens that press releases are taken over one-on-one by influencers, and that is what you pay for as a brand! If you want a brand that is written from an honest point of view, then you often end up with smaller parties. You can also make barter deals with smaller influencers more quickly. For example, a win action is always fun to do and automatically increases your reach. If it is purely about brand awareness, you might as well work with small parties. Once it is on the Internet, it will spread by itself. When it comes to link building and short-term work, it is better to look at the big influencers’.
What kind of collaborations are there?
‘The collaborations include the purchase of advertorials, banners and barter deals. It is also about what a customer wants. In a long-term relationship you can ask faster if someone wants to write something about a product of 15 euros, than when it is a one-time thing’, says Miriam. Fleur and I strarted our blogging experience, just because we like it, we do it alongside our work. We hear from companies that you can also read that in our articles.’
A blogger will be added every week, how do you choose from the large amount of blogging mothers? ‘It is best for companies to contact us for this. We refer companies free of charge. In our mamablogger world, everyone knows each other. Always look beyond the numbers, read old articles and ask yourself: is this a writer in which you can find yourself as a brand? Also look at the language use, unfortunately there are also bloggers who write Dutch badly.’
Watch out: new media law on the way!
According to experts, bloggers, vloggers and Instagram users are helping to spread surreptitious advertising en masse via YouTube and Instagram. The rules of the Dutch Advertising Code Authority are therefore exceeded. Advertisers should oblige influencers to adhere to the Dutch Advertising Code, but many companies fail to do so. As a result, it is often not clear whether influencers are paid or not. That is why a campaign for clearly recognizable marketing of influencers will soon start in The Netherlands. A new media law will be introduced in The Netherlands that will tackle this surreptitious advertising. In case of violation, a fine will be handed out. Strangely enough, the law only applies to YouTube and not to Instagram.