What does it mean to be a purpose-led brand? For me it’s about advocating and driving change on issues genuinely linked to our business and values. Because when there is real connection, there’s also real impact.
This is even more important in today’s world. A global study analysing the business value of brands with a well-understood “purpose”, revealed that consumers are four to six times more likely to trust, and defend companies with a strong purpose.
For Pampers this translates into our vision that together, we make babies’ world better, especially the most vulnerable. As a brand committed to supporting the underrepresented, we want to walk the talk and celebrate the voices which often go unheard when it comes to birth and the early years, like those of families affected by prematurity.
Despite advances in prenatal care, there are still 15 million premature babies born globally each year. It’s a challenging time for babies and families. And that’s why Pampers want to help.
In 2002, Pampers was the first manufacturer to introduce a diaper specifically designed for premature babies. Twenty years later, our global preemie work remains the cornerstone of our force for good mission.
Touch is how they feel love
When a baby is premature, parents often feel helpless and that they have no control over what’s happening to their baby. They may not be able to hold or even touch them at first, although we know how crucial touch is. Gentle touch on a preemie’s delicate skin can help them bond with their caregivers by triggering the release of oxytocin (the love and bonding hormone), helping reduce stress and anxiety. Since the diaper is one of the few items in constant contact with their skin, it needs to be gentle. That’s why we’ve designed our Preemie diapers to be extra soft, making their world a little more comfortable.
Beyond the diaper
Our work for preemies goes beyond product innovation. We’re committed to supporting parents, experts and NGOs through our wide-reaching and impactful awareness campaigns and donation drivers.
With initiatives in 20+ countries globally, this year again on November 17th, we’ll join with our retail partners and NGO’s to drive awareness and consumer actionability for World Prematurity Day. Besides diaper donation, we actively support families as they go through the difficult prematurity journey. For instance, in Germany, together with our partner Wellcome, we are offering telephone consultations with experienced midwives, enabling parents to continue receiving help even after leaving the hospital.
In the UK, on top of our long-lasting partnership with Bliss – the UK’s leading charity for babies born premature or sick, which will continue focusing on providing emotional support to parents in neonatal units, we are also taking another step this year. We are donating to UNICEF to help them provide better access to healthcare in low-and-middle-income countries and support skin-to-skin contact to improve the survival chances of 1.7 million babies globally.
In France, we are thrilled to partner this year with Clarisse Agbégnégnou, double Olympic judo champion and ambassador of our historical preemie partner SOS Préma! Born as a premature baby herself, she is an amazing example of courage and resilience for all babies and parents, from fighting from the very first day of her life to becoming a truly inspiring Olympic champion and loving mother.
Pampers’ voice in the preemie world all started with a tiny diaper 20 years ago. By adding unique voices like Clarisse’s to our own, we want to drive meaningful change for every preemie baby and their family, helping to make their world a little better today, tomorrow, and every day.
Ranya Shamoon
