Examine the International Perspective of the Organic Baby and Toddler Care Market – Focus on The UK

Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report related to the British personal care industry is now available to its catalogue.

UK Organic Baby & Toddler Care

http://www.reportlinker.com/p057081/Organic-Baby-Care.html

The organic food sector for babies and toddlers is the largest within the organic baby and toddler care market. It is also the fastest-growing sector within the total (including non-organic) baby and toddler food market. Its success, coupled with an increasing concern over the amount of disposable nappies going to landfill, has also sparked a greater interest in reusable nappies. This sector — which is very much a cottage industry populated by `mumtrepreneurs’ or work at home mums (WAHMs) — is moving gradually into the mainstream, with some large supermarkets stocking reusable (cloth or `real’) nappies and Boots, for example, producing its own brand of reusables.

The convenience of disposable nappies is not in doubt, but only one brand manufactures completely biodegradable nappies available in the UK, with a further four brands that are largely biodegradable. However, such is the dominance of the two major brands — Huggies and Pampers — that the more eco-friendly disposables are primarily only available through mail order or independent health-food shops.

It is the WAHM sector that is largely supporting the organic movement in the UK, with legions of mothers (and some fathers) setting up their own online businesses selling organic products for babies and toddlers sourced from around the world. Some are manufacturers in their own right. New mothers, finding the lack of availability of healthy nutritious foods for their own babies, have set up small mail-order companies selling their own recipes made from organic ingredients sourced locally wherever possible. Some of these manufacturers are finding their own niche within the more upmarket branches of some supermarkets.

Some small family-run manufacturing businesses have found their own niches in toys or organic clothing and bedding, some of which are part of a wider diversification scheme from farms converted to organic farming methods.

The amount of organic land increased overall between 2003 and 2005, although with the loss of some hillside farms in Scotland in recent years, the amount of in-conversion land fell in 2004 and 2005. Farmers in the UK and in the cotton-growing regions were reluctant to convert while the market for organic produce and goods seemed uncertain. Although the organic market is still very much in its infancy, awareness is growing and with baby foods leading the way, other sectors will follow. There is already concern that demand may outstrip supply.

There are several drivers for consumers choosing a more organic lifestyle for themselves and their children. Their main worry is the health of their infants. Growing concern over the number of chemicals used in food production has fuelled the growth in the organic baby food market. However, concern over the environment is also a priority for these parents as is interest in ethical trading, as evidenced by the growth in Fairtrade.

The publisher invited a number of key industry professionals to take part in a virtual roundtable discussion for this report. Almost all of those interviewed cited a lack of available information as a key issue in the organic baby and toddler care market, alongside the lack of availability and the higher costs of organic produce and products.

For those who are already concerned about healthy eating, the environment and the working conditions of the producers, there is a wealth of information. The publisher had many resources upon which it could call in compiling this report. However, for busy parents with barely time to read the labels and only the mainstream media to draw on for information, there is much confusion, especially when they read conflicting reports regarding the safety of the fungicides and pesticides used in food production. Many of the chemicals used have been shown to have serious implications for health, especially in developing babies and toddlers, but government reports state that at the levels in which they are found in foods they are safe. However, the rising number of children developing cancers, the increasing incidence of asthma and eczema in children and the rapid acceleration of childhood obesity are beginning to suggest otherwise.

The problem is further compounded by the often misleading marketing used for non-organic products by brands that want to exploit parents’ health fears, using terms such as `natural’ and `fresh’ for products that are often anything but in the common understanding of the terms, but which have no meaning in law.

This report looks in-depth at the underlying factors that are driving producers, manufacturers and consumers towards a more organic approach, examining in detail the problems that are increasingly being found with the use of synthetic chemicals in production. Looking at five different sectors — baby and infant food, nappies, clothing and bedding, toiletries and hygiene products, and toys — the report comments on the size of the market, identifies the prime producers and retailers and examines the issues raised by conventional production methods in each sector.

Around the world, farms are converting to organic methods for crops and for fibres. Cotton farmers are beginning to reap the benefits of organic farming methods in decreased associated illnesses (and even deaths) and increased yields. New crops, particularly bamboo, are also being identified as an exciting source of raw materials for organic textiles and with many high-street brands entering the organic cotton market, the organic textiles market will inevitably grow.

Despite the fervour of those already involved in the organic market, the major brands need to adapt their own production methods to organic for the market to grow sufficiently large to reach a much greater number of consumers — and in so doing improve the health of a much greater number of people.

Table of content

1. Introduction

2. Strategic Overview

EUROPEAN ACTION PLAN FOR ORGANIC FOOD AND FARMING

Organic Certification

MARKET SEGMENTATION

MARKET VALUE AND GROWTH

Organic Producers and Growers

Retail Sales of Organic Products

Demographic and Social Factors

Ethical Parents Pay More

DISTRIBUTION

COMPETITIVE STRUCTURE

Supply and Demand

ADVERTISING AND MARKETING

Main Media Advertising Expenditure

Trade Fairs

Consumer Magazines

Why Go Organic?

Food Standards Agency

MARKET FORECASTS

3. Baby and Infant Food

BACKGROUND

PRODUCT SECTORS

Baby Milks

Toddler Drinks

Finger Foods

MARKET DYNAMICS AND SIZE

PESTICIDES

CHEMICAL COCKTAILS

ADDITIVES

What Not To Eat

Artificial Colourings

Aspartame

Sucrose/Table Sugar

Hydrogenated or Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil

Monosodium Glutamate

Sodium Nitrite and Nitrate

Sulphites

Cabaryl

Genetically Modified Food

Children’s Medicines

ADVERTISING AND MARKETING

Awards

COMPETITIVE STRUCTURE

CONSUMER TRENDS

DISTRIBUTION

4. Nappies

BACKGROUND

Environmental Impact

Government Funding

Real Nappy Week

Reusable and Disposable Nappy Trade Associations

TYPES OF NAPPY

Disposable Nappies

Baby Nappies

Training Pants

Pant Nappy

Real Nappies

Terry Squares

Pre-Fold Nappies

Shaped Nappies

Pouches

Bamboo Nappies

MARKET DYNAMICS AND SIZE

ADVERTISING AND MARKETING

COMPETITIVE STRUCTURE

Disposable Nappies

Bambo Nature

Moltex Oko

Nature babycare (Nature Boy and Nature Girl)

TenderCare

Tushies

Retail Price Comparisons

Real Nappies

Retail Price Comparisons

CONSUMER TRENDS

The Landfill Debate

DISTRIBUTION

5. Clothing and Bedding

BACKGROUND

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

New Organic Standard

A Textile Revolution

MARKET SIZE

CONSUMER TRENDS

ADVERTISING AND MARKETING

PRICE COMPARISON

DISTRIBUTION

Leading Suppliers

Bamboo Baby Ltd

Bishopston Trading Company

Cut4Cloth Ltd

Greenfibres

Green Baby Ltd

Organics for Kids

People Tree Ltd

Under the Nile

Supply-Chain Traceability

6. Toiletries and Hygiene Products

BACKGROUND

Hidden Nasties

Parabens

Petrolatum (Petroleum Jelly)

Phthalates

Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulphate

Sunscreens

Talc

MARKET DYNAMICS AND SIZE

CONSUMER TRENDS

ADVERTISING AND MARKETING

DISTRIBUTION

Earth Friendly Baby

The Green People Company Ltd

Neal’s Yard Remedies Ltd

Trevarno Skin Care Ltd

Weleda UK Ltd

7. Toys

BACKGROUND

Plastic Toy Manufacture

Ethical Consumer Research Association Publishing Ltd

MARKET DYNAMICS AND SIZE

CONSUMER TRENDS

60-Second Green Guide

ADVERTISING AND MARKETING

DISTRIBUTION

Clementine Toys Ltd

Myriad Natural Toys Ltd

Toys-to-You Ltd

8. An International Perspective

INTRODUCTION

MARKET DEVELOPMENTS

Fairtrade

COMPETITOR ENVIRONMENT

Africa

China

Egypt

India and Pakistan

Israel

Turkey

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

9. PEST Analysis

POLITICAL FACTORS

EU Directives

Directive 2005/84/EC

Directive 2002/96/EC

Directive 2002/95/EC

The Children’s Food Campaign

ECONOMIC FACTORS

SOCIAL FACTORS

TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS

10. Market Dynamics

INDUSTRY ROUNDTABLE

11. Company Profiles

INTRODUCTION

HIPP UK LTD

ORGANIX BRANDS LTD

12. The Future

BACKGROUND

Functional Foods

Supplements

THE FUTURE FOR ORGANIC

MARKET FORECASTS

13. Further Sources

More market research reports? Go to http://www.reportlinker.com

http://www.reportlinker.com/Rss/en019018/baby-care-free-market -research-reports.xml

http://www.reportlinker.com/Rss/en012416/baby-product-free-market -research-reports.xml

http://www.reportlinker.com/Rss/en019031/baby-products-free-market -research-reports.xml

http://www.reportlinker.com/Rss/en012413/baby-food-free-market -research-reports.xml

http://www.reportlinker.com/Rss/en019020/baby-toiletries-free- market-research-reports.xml

(Due to their length, these URLs may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser’s address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)