How Bambino Mio is trying to make reusable nappies normal

Guy Schanschieff, founder and chief at Bambino Mio, speaks to Andy Martin about standing up against the tide of single-use baby undergarments with his line of washable and reusable nappies

Their priority is making reusable products that are high performing and look good (Bambino Mio)

Unpleasant fact No 1: soiled nappies are the third biggest contributor to landfill in this country. Unpleasant fact No 2: Vanuatu in the South Pacific is so choked with used disposable nappies it has banned them. Guy Schanschieff, founder and chief at Bambino Mio, is standing up against the tide of single-use baby undergarments with his line of washable and reusable nappies.

He earned his entrepreneurial spurs as a kid growing up in Northampton, selling fruit and veg at the side of the road. Not only was it all for charity, but most of his customers were simply buying back what they had grown in the local allotment in the first place. In the era before car boot sales, 10-year old Guy then turned his hand to organising jumble sales. And even if that too was for a good cause, he still had a shrewd sense of commercial realities. When one of his buyers drove off with a ton of jumble for a mere fiver, he realised he’d been ripped off. “It’s a good analogy for running a business,” says Schanschieff. “Learning as you go along – mainly from your mistakes. If you get more things right than wrong, you’re a success. But it’s only by trying things out that you can find what works.”