About us
Mumsnet was conceived at the fag end of the last millenium when Justine went on a disastrous family holiday. The idea was to create a website where parents could swap advice about holidays, sleepless nights and their other halves. Many moons later, who'd have thought it would come to this? The site gets nearly five million visits a month.
Our aim is to:
- Make parents' lives easier by pooling knowledge, advice and support.
- We try, as far as possible to let the conversation flow and not to over-moderate. Mumsnet is a site for grown-ups.
Our advertising policy
Mumsnet is a business funded mainly by advertising and we hope to be a profitable one but our overarching aim is not the pursuit of profits. We are independently owned and we endeavour to conduct business in an ethical manner.
With this in mind, Mumsnet supports the WHO/UNICEF International Code on the Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and we do not accept advertising from a number of companies including Nestle, and for a number of products, such as formula milk and cosmetic surgery, that we believe do not sit well with our philosophy - namely to make parents' lives easier.
Mumsnet campaigns
Mumsnet is a community and is not a lobby group. We are independently funded and have no particular political axe to grind. That said our members are very active when it comes to something they feel strongly about.
- In February 2011, we challenged major retailers to ensure that lads' mags and similar publications were kept out of children's sight on display stands, and were delighted when almost all of them responded positively, in some cases changing their policies to do so.
- In April 2010, we launched our Let Girls Be Girls campaign, challenging retailers and manufacturers to pledge only to offer products that don't play upon, exploit, or emphasise children's sexuality.
- We're lobbying hard for a change to internet libel law. We're part of the Libel Reform Campaign and contributed to the consultation process that led to the draft libel reform bill. We will be feeding in to further consultation before the new legislation is introduced in 2012.
- We're part of the EQUALS coalition, which organised events around International Women's Day 2011. We're also part of the Maternal Mortality Coalition, campaigning for action on maternal and newborn health in developing countries.
- In January 2010, the Outdoor Advertising Association pulled posters for a £1.25 million campaign that unwisely declared "Career women make bad mothers" after an outcry and mass letter-writing campaign on Mumsnet. The OAA issued a formal apology, stating: "We did not intend to cause any offence." The advertising agency responsible for the campaign replaced the posters with new ones stating: "Sexist adverts damage us all."
- In April 2008, we began a campaign for improved miscarriage care and, based on members' views, drew up a Miscarriage Standard Code of Practice, with 11 recommendations for improving standards of NHS care for women who've suffered a miscarriage.
- In July 2007 Mumsnetters caused the Madeleine McCann ad to be pulled from British cinemas.