In 1947, after having her third child, Valerie Hunter Gordon started developing a product that could prevent the hours of drudgery and wasted resources spent on washing, drying and ironing the traditional towelling nappy.
"[1] Valerie created her nappies, being a two-part system, consisting of a biodegradable disposable pad (made of cellulose wadding covered with cotton wool) worn inside an adjustable waterproof garment (the PADDI) with press-studs that was not thrown out.
Initially, the big manufacturers were unable to see the commercial possibilities of disposable nappies though, and Valerie made over 400 PADDIs herself using her sewing machine at the kitchen table.
Valerie applied for the patent in April 1948, which was later granted for the PADDI garment in the UK in October 1949, but not for the disposal pad inserts.
[1] She had approached the nappy manufacturers Robinson & Sons of Chesterfield who were initially wary following an earlier unsuccessful trial, but a chance meeting between Valerie's father, Vincent Ziani de Ferranti, and Sir Robert Robinson at a Royal Society dinner then led to her signing a contract with the company on 8 November 1949.
PADDI sales reached 6 million by 1960, and the product was very successful for many years until the advent of Pamper's all-in-one diapers,[4] in which plastic is thrown out together with the wadding, a concept which has been criticised by environmental groups as unsustainable.