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All this started with my first babysitting experience at the age of 11 years old. Disposable diapers in the 70s consisted of disposable pads inserted in a reusable diaper-shaped plastic cover with a pleasant scent which is still fresh in my mind!. Without any training at all, I assumed the baby should be clean and dry at all times, so I proceeded to changed her every 20 minutes, thus going through almost a whole pack of pads in a few hours!
Little did I know at the time that seeing that enormous pile of soiled diapers (in reality just barely wet) was going to affect my life as a mother and my professional life too. The waste produced in such a short time had a long lasting effect in my subconscious for sure!
I moved to London in 1994 and gave birth to my son there in 2001 but nothing was further from my mind than using disposable diapers with him. In fact I can proudly say that I have never used one with my children, not even when traveling. I chose for Tristan diapers that were practical and could be used for years to come by other babies in the family.
However, I wanted to do more to raise awareness among new parents so I decided to join Women and the Environmental Network as a volunteer to promote real diapers, made with fabrics such as cotton or wool instead of paper and plastic. I helped new mums with my experience using washable and reusable alternatives and shared about the advantages for family and local economy. As an educator myself, I relished the responsibility to share with others what I learned about the impact on the baby´s health, the environment, and about the alternatives available to parents.
Entrepreneurial blood
Undoubtedly I inherited the entrepreneurial drive from my mother, Luisa, who worked as a seamstress since the age of 12, and brought up her five-children family single handed after being widowed at just 36 years old.
The baby in arms is Dolores who grew up working in her mother’s workshop and became a children's fashion designer for the family business at 22 years of age.
Unlike my mum, I had the opportunity to combine higher education with studying fashion design in Barcelona. I was fortunate to be able to travel and live abroad in the United Kingdom, China and since 2008 in USA.
While homeschooling my children, I have been running my two businesses from an intentional co-housing community in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where I live with my family.
My passion for helping protect the environment from the unnecessary overuse of disposable products led me to investigate alternatives for menstruation and incontinence. After studying many alternatives and finding that most of them use polyester in their products, I embarked on research and development which would result in creating my own super-absorbent, water-proof fabric for our sanitary pads. Read more in Why Orethic?
Since 2002 our work with Bebes Ecológicos S.L. (Eco-Etico.com) and Orethic LLC (www.orethic.com) has inspired hundreds of people to change their consumer habits, to set up their own green business and become ambassadors for sustainable alternatives for everyday living.
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