Features / 27 September, 2017 / My Baba

Emma Bunton On Creativity, Having Children And Co-Founding Kit & Kin

We caught up with Emma Bunton to talk about family life, encouraging creativity, and co-founding nappy and skincare brand Kit & Kin.

What inspired you to co-found eco-nappy and skincare brand Kit & Kin with Christopher Money?

I met Christopher Money through a mutual friend years ago and we just discovered that we both have a passion for the fact that we needed eco-friendly nappies that can biodegrade and natural products that would be good for our babies’ skin. We worked together and came up with Kit & Kin which has been like our baby. We’ve been working it for three years now. My boys have been involved, his boys have been involved — it’s been a real family affair.

I’m so proud of it because, you know, eight million nappies a day we throw away. It takes 500 years to biodegrade one nappy and ours take three to six. That’s a big difference. We’re making a change. We’re making a difference.

After having babies, I thought am I doing the right thing bringing children into this world? It’s changing dramatically. Obviously it’s a wonderful thing to have children and if I can just make a small difference. Even though it feels like a small difference, actually it’s a huge change we’re making. So fingers crossed, we are doing our bit. We’ve only been out there for five months. We’ve won nine awards. We’re getting great feedback and that’s all you can ask for, especially from mums. I’m doing this for the mums and dads out there.

Emma and Christopher

Your children have suffered from eczema the past. Do you have any have any advice for parents with children suffering from eczema?

Both of my children suffered from eczema from an early age and I didn’t even really know what eczema was. I took them to the doctor and I was prescribed medicine which is packed full of unnatural ingredients and I didn’t want to put that on my new gorgeous baby’s skin. At first I thought — how do I deal with this? Is this just something that children get? Then I worked out it is products that maybe aren’t right for them. That’s the reason I wanted to do this and — touch wood — my children, their skin is amazing and it’s all through having natural products on them.

What product from the collection would you recommend for young children with eczema?

The body oil because it’s just a brilliant natural oil thats keeps them moisturised. My kids love it because it’s quick. It’s not a oily oil. It’s a dry oil. So when they come out of the bath, I’m very fast about it. I’m like super-mum because they get bored very quickly.

Also the body wash and the bubble bath. Kids love to stay in the bath for ages and, of course water dries their skin, so if you can get some of the bubble bath into the bath and then that softens everything their skin.

Did you have a lot of creative control when it came to the design of the nappies?

Yeah — I’m so bossy! I felt like I just wanted to be a huge part of it. Me and Christopher, we’re both parents, so we knew what we wanted to achieve. I’m creative so I knew how I wanted the bottles to be and which colours. My kids helped a lot with it as well. Having the nappies with different little animals just felt like a really cute idea that just makes our nappies extra special.

How did life change for you when you became a mother? And what is your a favourite thing about motherhood?

It changed completely. Before I only had to think about myself from hour to hour: what I was doing where I was going, who I was hanging out with. I’ve always wanted children. They’re my everything. They’re my priority. And they’re just adorable. They’re so warm and you can see the characters that are coming out. I’m learning from them. I feel like I learn more from them. They would go to school and learn about recycling and they’d come home and teach me about things. They really deserve a lot of credit.

What are you favourite activities to do as a family?

We love eating together in the evenings. Obviously the kids are at school all day and  I get up early to go to Heart Breakfast. Having a meal in the evening and talking about our day is very special for us.

Football, I love seeing my eldest play football. My youngest goes to dance class so I watch him quite a lot too. But yeah, we spend a lot of time together as a family — it’s quite important for us.

When it comes to food, what’s your guilty please? Do you have any family recipes you can share with us?

Bread and butter. And chocolate!

I’m very lucky with my other half, he’s worked in kitchens and worked with Gordon Ramsay so he’s learnt a lot of things along the way. He does an amazing fresh couscous with vegetables that I love. We’ve very lucky our children enjoy fish as well — a sea bass or a salmon. But sometimes we just go all out and it’s chips day with bread and butter!

Are you boys into music and would you encourage them to take a creative route?

I would. I mean they’re still so young. They’re still trying everything from tennis to dance lessons to football. My youngest loves music. He dances and sings all day long to everything. He loves Ariana Grande and Little Mix, all types of music. He’s making up dance routines. I think that’s probably in his soul. My eldest loves singing as well.

You’re conquered the music, film and TV industries and now you’re making it in the baby industry. What has been the most challenging endeavour?

Wow. Thank you. I feel very lucky that I’ve tried most things and I’ve enjoyed most things. Obviously being part of one of the biggest girl bands in the world — I just feel very lucky I was part of that with my mates. People say you’ve worked so hard but but actually you know we had a real laugh doing it. How can you beat that?

The best thing I’ve achieved is having my children. They’re just delicious and my everything. That is the reason I want to still achieve and am still ambitious. I want them to still watch mummy and have that work ethic.

What is the one baby product you couldn’t live without?

I couldn’t live without our baby oil. My children are of a mixed heritage so they do get that dry skin so I have to make sure to keep their skin moisturised.

Kit & Kin Mother and Baby bundle