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The Advantages of Cloth Nappies

April 7th, 2008

Why I Use Cloth Nappies by Rachel Julian

My little boy (my first!) is 15 months old and I decided to use cloth nappies with him because other people in my family had used them, and I knew how easy modern cloth nappies are to use, and how much money I could save, but not all parents get given information to make their choice. The new breed of cloth nappies are far removed from the old terry squares and boil washing…and I loved them so much that I now promote real cloth nappies and offer an advice and sales service to anyone interested in using them.

My son Ben has been in nappies made from bamboo material which have antiseptic properties and are very absorbent since he was about 3 weeks old. Part of the fun I’ve found in promoting cloth nappies is that we test them out before feeling able to tell others about them, so some days he has a slim hemp nappy, some days a fluffy cotton one, and others an easy all-in-one. Every couple of days they go in the washing machine at 60 C, dry on the line and are ready to use again.

This month April 21-26th is Real Nappy Week. I encourage parents to try a cloth nappy or two by offering a 20% discount on trial packs, starter sets and full birth to potty sets (quote ‘greenfinder’ when you get in touch). Here are just some of the advantages of using cloth nappies.

Money

Nappies are a big expense for 2-3 years, but on the whole, cloth nappies work out cheaper than disposables. The initial outlay for a set of nappies is from £70-£200 plus costs of washing them, but obviously then you reuse these nappies for 1-3 years and they can be reused for a second or third child, it works out much cheaper.

A Good Fit

Nappies shouldn’t leak. With the wide range of cloth nappies, and the fitted waterproof wraps, you can get a nappy which fits your baby well and is absorbent enough for your child’s needs.

Health

We know what is in a cloth nappy, just cotton (organic or not), bamboo or hemp. No gels and no chemicals are needed to produce them. For children with sensitive skin, organic cotton nappies could help and for any child it can help us monitor what we put on their skin.

Environment

Always a good topic for debate, but using cloth nappies does reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. There are different models for calculating the costs of washing, or tumble drying, but they’re probably cancelled out by the production and transportation costs of the disposables, so cloth nappies are an ecological choice

Toilet training

One of the suggestions to help toilet training is that children need to know when they are wet, which is easier with cloth nappies. Even if you only move to cloth nappies after the first birthday of your child there is a benefit on both money and environmental levels too.

So, if I have prompted you to find out more, here’s what I can offer you…

• I have information and sales on my website usefulmoose.co.uk (see link below)

• I offer a telephone advice service so you can call me on 07703 120806 or email nappies @usefulmoose.co.uk

• If you are part of a group or event near West Yorkshire or Manchester I can bring a stall of nappies for people to look at and discuss using them.

• Finally, I also have a ‘nappy library’…which is a set of different nappies that you borrow for 14 days so you can try out cloth nappies, and see which work for you. There is a small administration charge (£5), a returnable deposit (£100) and postage costs.

For more information please visit the link below

http://www.usefulmoose.co.uk

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