As the world’s recession becomes a reality, redundancy rates rise and many young families are struggling to get by on one income, a growing number of parents are now making the smart switch to modern cloth nappies.
Many parents are discovering that they can save up to $50 per week on their grocery bill which can come to an astonishing $6300* over 3 – 3.5 years.
Generally when couples have their first child they drop from two incomes to one so their weekly income is literally cut in half.
These now single income families are providing for a new baby who will cost a small fortune in their first few years of life.
“The main issue that puts parents off using cloth nappies is the initial investment because it can be anything between $500 and $1500 depending on the chosen brand,” says Kate Meads, cloth nappy expert and spokesperson for the New Zealand Nappy Alliance (www.nzna.org.nz)
“However if you had to go and purchase all of your disposable nappies up front, you just wouldn’t buy them because who could afford to spend such a huge amount of money up front on a product you will only use once”–
“We suggest parents purchase their reusable nappies while they are still pregnant and pay them off while they make the most of still having two incomes to draw on,” Says Kate Meads who is also director of Nappy Days Limited (www.nappydays.co.nz)
“These parents can then be happy in the knowledge that they won’t have an additional expense buying disposable nappies each time they go to the supermarket.”
“With a little bit of education, parents are discovering that using Modern cloth nappies take no longer to use than disposables and they are finding out first hand how much these wonder nappies are saving them on a weekly basis.”
Kate also knows many parents become overwhelmed when researching their nappy options because of the amount of information available online.
This resulted in her writing a book titled ‘Modern Cloth Nappies’
“I wrote ‘Modern Cloth Nappies’ to help parents decide which type of nappy would most suit their lifestyle and to dispel the many myths surrounding cloth nappies today” Says Kate
Kate has provided her book to Waitakere City Council who is jointly publishing it so they can use it as a resource in the Waitakere City area.
"This book is clear and informative for anyone who is starting out with cloth nappies. The book covers all the various types of cloth nappies available on the market while being an easy read - a great resource for cloth nappy users." Says Jennifer Aschenbrenner, cleaner production officer, Waitakere City Council
“I am hopeful my book will be used and supported in future by other councils and that it will make choosing and using washable nappies far easier for parents, potentially saving them thousands,” says Kate
