Cloth vs Disposable Nappies

• Choosing whether to use cloth or disposable nappies for your baby is an important decision that every parent has to make. One of the greatest concerns for parents is to keep their baby’s skin dry, healthy and free from nappy rash. Prolonged wetness, lack of air circulation, soap, chemical and dye allergies, are just a few contributing factors to nappy rash. However, today there are some advanced cloth and reusable nappy options available that will ensure your baby is happy and healthy all day long..
  
  

• There are some major concerns when using the traditional disposable nappies such as dyes, sodium polyacryate (the super absorbant gel), and dioxin, which is a bi-product of bleaching paper. These chemicals and toxins can irritate your little one’s skin leaving it red, itchy and sore. There are now some healthier alternatives, such asMoltex Nappies
  

• and Bambo Nappies that are 100% oxygen bleached; keeping those nasty toxins away from your baby’s bottom. They are also 80% biodegradable, meaning that you will be contributing much less waste to our landfills and reducing your carbon footprint.

• It is estimated that roughly 5 million tons of untreated waste and a total of 2 billion tons of urine, faeces, plastic and paper are added to landfills annually. It takes around 36,000 Kg of plastic and over 200,000 trees a year to manufacture the disposable nappies for Australian babies alone, so choosing a biodegradable option will reduce the amount of overall waste you produce. It can take up to 500 years for a traditional disposable nappy to breakdown and each year, we use up to 800 million of these in Australia each year.

• Nappies have come along way, and the reusable cloth nappy isn’t what it used to be. Some cloth nappies now have double or triple layers and a multiply, fibre-filled strip, making them more absorbent than older styles. Some styles of cloth nappies now come with Velcro strips, eliminating the need for those large safety pins.

• With the newer style of cloth nappies that are on the market, disposable nappies are not much more convenient than cloth nappies. The new multiple layer, Velcro fastening cloth nappies are just as easy to put on and take off as disposables. Cloth nappies do not really need to be pre-soaked, or even rinsed out. Flushable liners can be used with cloth nappies that let you lift the soiled liner off the cloth and flush the liner and the poop down the toilet, making it convenient for when you are travelling or out and about.

• The cost of nappies is usually a great concern for most parents, however as most parents find out, cost becomes less important since studies show using disposables, home laundered cloth nappies or using a nappy service usually all cost about the same. It is about discovering what works best for you and your child and of course, the environment.