Popular Woolworths item to be made in Australia instead of China

Woolworths has announced its nappies will now be manufactured in Australia after previously being made in China.

The supermarket announced last week Little One’s newborn, infant, and junior sizes will now be created in Sydney’s suburb of Eastern Creek by supplier Ontex Australia.

The crawler, walker and toddler sizes will be introduced in the “coming months”, the groceries giant said in a statement.

Woolworths estimates the Sydney facility will create 185 million nappies per year or 10 nappies every second.

The supermarket’s FoodCo Managing Director Guy Brent said the supermarket was “thrilled” to be creating nappies in Australia “for the same affordable price”.

Ontex Australia Director Rod Evans added their decision to partner with Ontex shows an “ongoing joint commitment to Australian manufacturing and serving Australian families”.

“Woolworths’ support of Australian manufacturing, and specifically Ontex at Eastern Creek, greatly assists in the ongoing viability of our local business, provides employment opportunities and helps nurture the well-being of Aussie families,” he said.

A petition created in April called on Woolworths and Coles to introduce aisles featuring only Australian-made products.

The decision to move manufacturing to local shores comes during high tensions between Australia and China.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an investigation into the origins of coronavirus, with ground zero believed to be the Chinese city of Wuhan.

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There’s been an ongoing trade war between the two countries with China slapping huge tariffs on Australian barley.

A poll by the Lowy Institute published earlier this month found only 23 per cent of Australians trust China “to act somewhat responsibly in the world”.

Nine out of 10 want the government to reduce the country’s dependence on China too.

Last week, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian laid blame on Australia for the deteriorating relationship between the two countries.

There was also a sophisticated cyber attack targeting Australian organisations recently.

While the PM wouldn’t delve into who was behind it, there’s been speculation China was responsible for it.

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