Partou childcare starts pilot with washable nappies and early toilet training

‘That huge pile of disposable nappies? We should be able to do that differently’

THE HAGUE – Partou childcare has started a pilot with washable nappies and early toilet training at three locations in The Hague. With this, they are taking the lead in reducing the massive waste created by the many disposable nappies and significantly reducing CO2 emissions.

Partou orders and uses about 6.3 million nappies a year. This has a huge impact on the environment, which – looking at the future – really can and must be changed. The childcare organisation therefore joined forces with washable nappy brand Billie Wonder and Go Potty, an app that helps parents with toilet training.

Three Partou locations in The Hague will investigate how washable nappies can be suitable for childcare and how children can become toilet trained sooner and faster. The pilot, made possible by a sustainability grant from the ImpactCity program of the municipality of The Hague, started in April and will run until the end of this year. It will then be evaluated and determined whether it can be rolled out on a larger scale.

Ursula Kamsteeg, project leader of Sustainability at Partou: “As a large organisation in the childcare industry, we want to take responsibility and look at how things can be done differently. We are happy to contribute to the development of more sustainable alternatives. In doing so, we also hope to set an example for others; the more fellow organisations follow us in this, the better. This can bring about a huge social change in terms of waste and cost savings.”

Steef Fleur, founder of Billie Wonder: “Washable nappies struggle with an outdated image of being complicated and dirty. This is a shame because it is no longer a hydrophilic cloth with a safety pin as it was in the 1960s. The washable nappy has evolved a lot and is as easy to use as the disposable version. Especially for use in nurseries, we have developed a new, very user-friendly, and hygienic system with even greater absorbency. Moreover, the nappies are collected from the sites by the laundry company Wasserij Buis and industrially washed. This makes it easy to use for employees and equally comfortable for the children.”

Elianne Leeffers, founder of Go Potty: “The average age at which children become potty-trained has increased from 1 to 3 years since the 1940s. As a result, nappies are needed for much longer. Unnecessary, because most children are perfectly capable of it by 18 months. That is why pedagogical staff -together with parents- start working on toilet training in the baby groups from 0 to 2 years old. Combined with washable nappies, we can really make an impact.”

About Partou

Partou childcare stands for professional, safe, and inclusive childcare that contributes to children’s development. Partou is the largest childcare organisation in the Netherlands. The national childcare organisation, highly valued by parents and employees, has around 700 branches and around 9,200 committed employees in the Netherlands. Together, they care for around 67,000 children.

About Billie Wonder

Billie Wonder offers a collection of premium hemp-based washable nappies and accessories. By doing so, they save parents and caregivers money and time. In addition, washable nappies reduce nappy waste by 95%. Together, we are on our way to a circular (nappy) world.

About Go Potty

Go Potty is a tech start-up from The Hague that develops products and services to help parents and children with toilet training. Its first product is the Go Potty app, which coaches parents through the process of potty training in six simple steps (from 18 months). Using a questionnaire, parents can test their child’s readiness, their own readiness, and which approach suits them best. They can also log successes and accidents, share experiences with other parents, and ask questions to potty training experts.

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