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Advantages
of Using Cloth Nappies
 Just natural
materials, no plastics or chemicals next to baby’s skin. You can even get
organic cotton and bamboo nappies so you know your baby’s skin is
chemical-free. (Although, you can now buy bleach-free and chemical-free
eco disposables.)
Know that you are
putting contents of the nappy down the toilet where it should be, rather
than in the bin!
Have control over
the environmental impact of your baby’s nappies. If you wash at
60 degrees or lower, use environmentally
friendly detergents and line dry, the environmental impact of your baby’s nappy years
is far smaller than if you used disposables. If you use
your set of nappies on more than one child (either your own babies or by
passing them on or selling to others) you reduce the impact on the
environment even further. Buying nappies made
from organic fabrics also makes a big difference. Disposable users
can’t do anything to reduce the waste they create.
Financial
benefit, especially if used on more than one child. Disposables will cost
between £600 -
£1000 per child (*see below), whereas a really good set of modern cloth nappies will
cost between £200 and £500 with the accessories (nappy buckets, mesh,
washable wipes, fleece liners etc) costing about £30 - £40. You can spend
even less if you use terry squares with nappy nippa fasteners and a wrap
over the top (gorgeous patterned one of course!).
Better containment
of nappy contents – less leaks, less complete changes of clothes,
therefore less washing of baby’s clothes.
Produce less
household waste. About half of the waste a
family with a baby
produces will be nappies if they use disposables. By potty training a baby
will have used the same weight in disposable nappies as an average family
car, and this will still be sitting in a landfill site when they are
grandparents!
No smelly
disposables. Disposables smell even when they are just wet.
Washable nappies
and wraps are often beautiful, or snazzy, or fun, disposables are not!
Disadvantages
of using Cloth Nappies
Nappies have to be
bought up-front, rather than gradually as with disposables. (But look into
Council schemes to help with this. And even just one cloth nappy will save
you money in disposables, and you can put this towards buying the next
one!)
One more load of
washing every three days or so (more for newborns) to put from the bucket
to the machine (and press the button!). One more load of washing every
three days to hang up to dry – this takes longer than the
putting-the-washing-machine-on bit!
Bulkier changing
bag – disposables are slimmer.
Bulkier
bum! Most baby clothes are designed for disposables. Sometimes you might
have to use the next size up (esp. boys’ trousers) or buy clothes made
especially for cloth bottoms. (Softer landing when they fall on their
bottom though!)
Nappy addiction –
a very common affliction, similar to being addicted to buying shoes but
applies to nappies, especially when new ones are brought out that you just
have to try. Don’t worry, you have to go a long way before you spend as
much as you would if you were using disposables! And you can sell all
cloth nappies second-hand for usually about 50% or more of the new
price.
NB.
We have not
included anything about nappy rash as studies have concluded that the type
of nappy makes no difference to how much nappy rash a baby gets. Some
babies seem to get a lot more nappy rash when wearing disposables, some
seem to be more prone to it in cloth nappies. Using cloth is
versatile and if there is a nappy rash problem it is often sorted quickly
by the use of stay-dry liners next to baby’s skin.
* The £600 figure is based on the 4000
nappy changes being the reported average by the disposable nappy industry,
using the cheapest nappies and not using nappy sacks. The £1000 is based
on 5500 nappy changes (most people would agree this is slightly more
realistic for a normal baby!) and buying premium brand nappies and using
nappy sacks to store them in before refuse collection day. And we haven't
even mentioned the savings you can make by using washable wipes . . .
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