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Podcast: Witness History
Episode: When disposable nappies were invented
Description: In 1947, after the birth of her third child, Valerie Hunter Gordon, from Surrey decided she was sick of the drudgery of cloth nappies.
She came up with a solution – a reusable outer garment, initially made out of parachute material, with a disposable, biodegradable pad inside.
She named it the Paddi and once her friends saw it, they all wanted one, so she went into business. Rachel Naylor speaks to Nigel Hunter Gordon, Valerie’s son, who modelled them as a baby in the first adverts.