Why Should I Use Real Nappies?

There are plenty of reasons why real nappies make sense:

• environmental issues
• to save you money
• the chemicals in disposable nappies (although ‘eco' disposable nappies do have fewer chemicals than standard ones)
• comfort for your baby.

Environmental issues

8 million disposable nappies are thrown out every day!¹

Disposables account for 4% of household rubbish, of which the majority goes into landfill.¹

The manufacturers of real nappies offer advice on the best washing and care for their products, via agents and the internet, including the Real Nappy Campaign, and aim to try to correct myths which abound about real nappies, such as:

You need to boil wash nappies. No, a wash at 60 degrees is quite sufficient to clean and sanitise nappies. Where possible, air dry nappies (certain brands of nappy, mainly those which have an element of man-made material in them, allow for quick air drying which also helps to avoid the hard, ‘crispy' nappy effect (e.g. Bumgenius, Fuzzi Bunz, Fluffles, Bambinex Teddy).

You need to buy lots of nappies and wash every day. No, you need between 15 and 20 nappies for the first six months (if you are buying sized nappies, you usually have to buy two ‘batches' of nappies), and about 12-15 for the remainder of the baby's nappy life. Best to wash the nappies at least every third day (although the number of nappies you own will determine this to a large degree).

You need to soak nappies. No, most of the major nappy brands don't recommend or require their nappies to be pre-soaked. I would, however, recommend that any nappies particularly dirty with faeces be cleaned within 24 hours (if you use liners, either paper or fleece, this should reduce this problem considerably!) or do a quick cold rinse cycle before the main wash.

Cloth nappies = nappy rash. Certainly not. Nappy rash is caused by the ammonia in wee and the bacteria in faeces reacting with the baby's skin. The advice is to change your baby's nappy regularly, and certainly not to leave them sitting in faeces for any length of time. This advice applies to those who use disposable nappies as well.

Cloth nappies are hard work. Ok, you have to do, on average, an extra three washes a week, but let's be honest, take the nappy off, throw the liner down the toilet, then place the wet/dirty nappy in a bucket. Chuck them in the washing machine when you have a full load. Then dry. Certainly not as hard work as the mums in the 1950s had to do! Actually, I ended up changing my daughter's clothes less often as fewer of her newborn poos leaked out of her nappy.

Saves you money

The Women's Environmental Network (WEN) analysed the costs of disposables versus real nappies. It concluded that if an average baby was in nappies for 2.5 years, and based on five changes a day, the cost savings on buying 20 reusuable Motherease nappies, plus 12 Motherease wraps, versus using disposables for the same period of time, was £405. This is only for the first child. If you had another child, and used the same nappies (real nappies are built to withstand strenuous use, and expected to be used by more than one child), then the cost saving was closer to £636.

The report included the costs of buying the nappies and washing (electricity, washing powder and depreciation of the washing machine).

For more details see: http://www.wen.org.uk/nappies/cost_comparison.htm

So if you have two children you save over £1000 by using shaped nappies and over £1200 if you use terry nappies. Maybe the money could be used to go on a great family holiday instead?

Chemicals in disposables

The main reason that disposables can be so slim is that the nappies contain several chemicals to absorb moisture. Eco disposables (e.g. Moltex and Wiona) do claim to have fewer chemicals, especially the ‘bad' ones like chlorine. Don't be fooled though, these ‘eco nappies' do not biodegrade in landfill (the anaerobic conditions mean even food struggles to biodegrade quickly or easily, and even eco disposables have some element of plastic and/or absorbent gel in them.

Comfort for baby

Ok, which would you prefer - paper pants or cotton ones?

If your baby is not average sized (chunkier legs? Bigger tum?) then some disposables can rub against baby and leave red marks. I noticed this on my eldest: she was wearing disposables at night for a while, and each morning she had marks on the tops of her thighs. We tried a few different brands, but she obviously had particularly chunky legs! Remember, real nappies are softer, and many can be adjusted to give a perfect fit.

Other thoughts

What do I need then? About 15-20 nappies (prefolds, terries or shaped nappies), plus four or five wraps (unless you use a pocket nappy system like Bumgenius or Fuzzi Bunz), plus a bucket with a lid (something like a 16 litre bucket should be big enough), a washing machine and some non-bio powder. Prices range for the complete kit from about £80 to about £300 depending on the system you decide to use.

Cute factor? Many parents become enthusiastic about real nappies because of their general ‘cuteness'. Babies often end up with ‘big bottoms' (very cute for cuddling, and rather handy padding for baby when they learn to walk, as they always seem to plonk onto their bottom!). This does have a drawback when buying certain brands of clothes, such as Next or Gap trousers, which are a very slim cut. However, I have found many brands - as well as the www.cut4cloth.co.uk brand specifically designed for cloth nappy wearing babies - to be useful. For example Jojomamanbebe do a lovely range of baggier trousers for boys and girls, the supermarkets' clothing ranges come up more roomy, and if you have a girl, pinafores and dresses, and for boys, dungarees are a life saver! You develop an eye for which clothes fit (and which won't!). The nappies come in different colours, the wraps have prints, and these can all be on show in the warmer months.

Ease of changing? I found that, with a bit of practice, I took no longer to change my baby than it did when she was in disposables. Certainly there are brands which can make changing even quicker (‘all in ones' and pocket nappies), and which are particularly helpful, and space saving, when you are out and about.

Remember: You set up the system to suit you and your family, so even if you only use reusable nappies in the daytime and when you are at home, you are saving money and reducing waste. It does not have to be a 100% disposable or 100% reusable system - do what is best for you. Every little bit helps!

Rebecca Pridham

¹Disposable Nappies and Baby Wipes, Market Intelligence, April 2004

baba me Nappy Offer!

The kind folks at baba me have been super generous and agreed to a special offer for all readers of the BGI newsletter who are parents or parents-to-be. Buy One Get One Free on their latest nappy, the Econobum! £10.00 will buy you two one-size waterproof nappy covers as well as two prefold nappy inserts.

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To claim this fantastic offer email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) quoting ‘biggreennappy free nappy offer' with your order.

Limited to 1 per household. Offer ends 15 May 2010.
BGI Giveaway!

Interested in trying out a cloth fitted nappy? We have some free samples for you to try. Email me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for more information.

Photos (c) BGI 2010

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