My Story
Hi, I’m Laura. I’ve just had a baby boy and his name is Finn.
As I write, he is 6 months old. He is my world and I couldn’t imagine life without him (I wrote this original copy in 2018).
My idea for Plastic Free Baby started when I was when struggling to conceive Finn; I began to read up on the possible reasons for this difficulty. What could potentially impact on fertility in ways that I didn’t know about? Is it possible that the everyday plastic that I use could be having a knock on effect on my fertility and my health?
I read that some plastics contain toxic chemicals that can have a direct and scientifically proven impact on fertility in men and in women. This was a shocking revelation to me.
As I got bigger (and bigger and bigger!) and less mobile during pregnancy, I had more time to research further, and to become worried about what I was reading. It was clear to me that some plastics can have a potentially devastating and worryingly unquantifiable impact on the health of our unborn children, our babies, children and families.
Prior to my pregnancy, also, I produced a painting on behalf of the World Cetacean Alliance (a wonderful organisation that protects the world’s aquatic mammals such as whales, dolphins and porpoises). The painting was created in part by plastic waste washed up on Brighton’s beaches, as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the plastic pollution in the oceans that entangles wildlife. The painting I created went on to be endorsed by none other than living legend Sir David Attenborough!
So the two paths met… a prior interest and passion for using art to help raise awareness of plastic waste impacting our seas and natural environment, together with a personal journey investigating the impact of plastics on fertility, babies and children.
And of course it’s clear at the moment that the plastic free revolution is very topical at the moment. It seems like a big change can happen with one small gesture. ‘Plastic Free Living’ is a very politically active topic at the moment and it seems ethically and personally appropriate that I find a way to act on the issue of plastic.
And so begins Plastic Free Baby…
When I was pregnant I began writing lists - I do love a list - of plastic free baby and child products, as well as maternity and post-natal products. What I realised is that it took a huge amount of research, time and effort to find them all and that they were not all to be found in one place. I also found that some plastic free baby products simply don’t YET exist and are no longer mass manufactured in this plastic world that we live in today. I considered that this was not good enough, and so at 7 months pregnant embarked upon setting up a business plan for Plastic Free Baby!...
Supported by the LEAP programme for entrepreneurs (Local Enterprise & Apprenticeship Platform), I attended seminars and workshops (with my brand shiny new 8 week old baby!) to hone the Plastic Free Baby idea and finalise the business plan before embarking on development and launch of the business.
An addition..... (Now writing in 2019). Finn is now 18 months old! It's taken a while to launch Plastic Free Baby as I also unexpectedly became a single parent during this time, and also working as a freelancer in the Arts / music too (cramming a LOT of desk time into tiny nap times and evenings when Finn was sleeping!!!), but this all means so very much to me personally and for our children and our world, that despite somewhat challenging circumstances, I didn't want to say goodbye to the goal of launching Plastic Free Baby.
So here we go!...