Over the weekend there were a number of papers who picked up the news on the latest figures out from a disposable nappy survey.
I thought it was really exciting news because the figures show that more parents are making the switch to cloth nappies.
The figures showed that there is now at least 30% of parents using cloth nappies at least some of the time.
This is fabulous news for the cloth nappy industry as in previous years it has been estimated that 95% of parents use disposables. It is really exciting to see parents are having a go with cloth nappies.
The three most interesting things I found in the articles were the reference to cloth nappies taking up more time, that parents felt guilty using disposables and lastly that they were trying to spend less on nappies because they couldn't afford the more expensive brands.
Time consuming or time saving...
In this day and age, cloth nappies take very little time out of your day. The best news is that you dont need to fold them, pin them or soak them. No scrubbing or boiling is required. No more wringer washing machines and wash boards.
We now have fancy machines that do all of the work for us. The amazing pieces of equipment require less thought than ever. Some of the modern washing machines simply require you to put the nappies in and it will do the rest. The hardest part is hanging the nappies on the line. Truth be told this takes less time than taking out the disposable nappies to the outside bin.
The nappies are as easy to put on as a disposable and wow what a fashion statement.
Cloth nappies are really not as time consuming as you are lead to believe. Also in my experience I was actually doing less washing with the cloth nappies than with the disposables. I found that whenever Dan was in a disposable it leaked, regardless of brand or size and so I would have to wash a lot more than just a cloth nappy.
The Guilt factor:
If parents are feeling guilty about using disposables, perhaps they don't realize that there is a modern cloth nappy alternative.
They are most likely still thinking of the old nappies with the red stripes, pins, buckets and soaking. Sadly this is what you would believe when you read the information about cloth nappies in your Plunket thriving Under 5 book.
The fact is that the old pink striped wonders our parents had us hanging out in are not easy to come by these days. And today you only need a few cloth nappies if you just want to use them when you are having a day at home. Or if you want to use cloth nappies full time you will only need around 15 - 20 nappies.
For those 37% of the parents who are feeling guilty for using disposables, I encourage them to use just one cloth nappy each day for one nappy change and they could make a massive difference to their baby's overall contribution to the landfill.
By using JUST 1 cloth nappy per day they would prevent 365 nappies from going to land fill each year which could fill around 7 rubbish bags per year and save them around $250 per year as well.
The wallet wins more if you use cloth nappies...
With the other concern being the weekly grocery bill, these budget conscious parents could potentially save them selves $20 - $30 per week or a few thousand dollars per baby if they made the switch to cloth nappies.
Even parents who choose to use cloth nappies just some of the time will save hundreds of dollars per baby.
The truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth....
The fact is that many parents think they have to do one or the other. It is either Cloth or Disposable.
They have probably never considered the possibility of using both types of nappies.
By using a combination of cloth and disposables like I did, they can do their bit for the environment by using cloth nappies whenever it suits them but still have the convenience of a disposable when they want it.
The way I saw it was that if I was out and I wanted a quick coffee to go, 1 disposable cup was ok and gave me a bit of out and about convenience. However, I would never have a stack of disposable coffee cups at home to use when
the girls came around for a coffee because it was easy to wash a load
of cups in the dishwasher at home.
It is all about balance and doing your bit. Sure life is busy but if we just keep diving for convenience items we will end up living in a pile of our own crap and some time in the future, someone is going to have to take time to clean it up.
If we start making the small changes now, we can make a difference but if we continue to bury or heads in the sand, our children are going to have one hell of a mess to clean up!
