5 Reasons Why Parents are Switching to Cloth Nappies!

Lanarkshire Real Nappy Project is a nappy library ran by local volunteers in Lanarkshire and we are proud members of the Cloth Nappy Network. We are here to assist anyone wanting to start using cloth nappies, and support those in the community who have already started their cloth journey.

The main aim of the nappy library is to encourage people to be more sustainable in their everyday lives. So, what are the benefits of cloth? We will try to outline some of the advantages below

Let’s start with the cost!

If we take the average changes to be between 5-8 nappies a day (8 in the first 6 months), we calculated around 5000 nappies to be used before a child is potty trained at around two and a half years. Taking an average of premium nappies on the market at £10 for a pack of 50 x100 packs= £1000. This can be very heavy on the purse, not to mention that we are now talking more and more about nappy rationing amongst many parents.

To use cloth full time, we suggest you would need around 25 nappies, to ensure good rotation and time for washing and drying. At an average price of £14 (and remember that they hold a good value and they can be purchased preloved for half that price) we are looking at a total of £350 so about a third of the cost of disposable.

Sustainability

Disposable nappies account for 400,000 tonnes of waste a year, comprising of mainly single use plastics which can take over 300 years to decompose. With the average baby using around 5000 nappies before they are potty trained, you can see the amount going to landfill! Even the green option of disposable will generally use polymer crystals inside the nappy to absorb the pee, think about all those chemicals against the baby skin.

Cloth nappies require fewer resources to produce compared with disposables, and are made with natural fibres like cotton, bamboo and hemp. Here are a few facts for those that want to reduce the impact on our planet: 

• Disposable nappies require 60 times the amount of solid waste than reusable do

• They use 20 times the amount of raw materials, including crude oil, chlorine and wood- yes, around 70 million trees are cut down each year just to make disposable nappies

Chemicals

Reusables are also beneficial in other ways too. They don’t contain the harsh chemicals that can be found in disposables so are as gentle on your baby’s skin as underwear.  Some of the chemicals used to make disposable nappies are dyes, fragrance, chlorine, oils, phthalates and absorbent polymers! Cloth nappies are chemical free, breathable and made from natural materials. 

They also help keep babies hips in a good position which is especially good for babies with hip dysplasia.

Wellbeing

We hear many parents talking about nappy rash. This can be due to many factors including too much moisture on the skin, nappies not changed often enough, poo left on the skin, teething , sensitive skin, reaction to the chemicals in the nappies, food allergies and yeast infections. Cloth reduces the nappy rash as you change the nappy more often, no chemicals are used in the manufacture, and they are more breathable and use natural fibres.

Poonamis

Last but not least, how many times do we hear the dreaded poonami? We have all seen the pictures of the explosion that just gets everywhere! The cloth nappy has a greater containment than disposables, mainly because they fit tighter around the legs and waist due to the elastic, therefore much harder for poo to escape.

And one final thing, they hold their value. You can use them on multiple children and sell them after you are done with them, recouping some of the initial cost. And for many parents, the patterns and designs are a big advantage, don’t you agree that they look so much better than disposables?

Some gorgeous cloth nappies, can be very addictive when you get hooked to all the lovely patterns!

At Lanarkshire Real Nappy Library, we have hire kits available, two suitable for newborn and six for slightly bigger babies up to potty training, to allow those who are interested to try using them without jumping straight into a purchase.  There are also regular demo nights for anyone who wants to find out more about the nappies and how to use them and a thriving community Facebook group where members can look for support and advice from peers.

 Get in touch!

You can contact Lanarkshire Real Nappy Project online on Facebook or Instagram or fill in a form and someone will be in touch

Written by Elena Hare from Lanarkshire Real Nappy Project