Louise Pauer June 2020
6 Reasons everyone should be using
Modern Cloth Nappies
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Cloth nappies have seen a huge upgrade, yet only 10% of parents in Australia use them... read on for our top reasons to give cloth a go.
1. Disposables are the third biggest waste problem in the world, we need more people using eco friendly alternatives to make a change
We all know single use products are a big focus as our waste problem grows, I had no idea how scary the stats were on disposable nappies.
It's estimated that 1.5 BILLION nappies go to landfill each year just in Australia (sigh) Each nappy takes up to 500 years to decompose, meaning all the nappies that are in landfill today will still be there in the year 2500 (that's 16 generations away for some quick maths)
It's sometimes hard to visualise such large numbers, but to put it into perspective, if you lined up 1.5 Billon nappies it would cover Sydney 4 times over and the weight is the equivalent of 10,000 Boeing 373 airplanes..and that is just 1 years worth....yeh exactly....yuck...
Something needs to change and Australia needs your help.
2. You can save (a lot) of money $
How much is a pack of disposables ? $20-$30 per week? Two and half years later you're looking an average spend of about $4000
If you have 2 children $8000, 3 kiddies $12,000 (you get the picture)
Did you realise you were spending that much money on single use plastic which catches poop? I mean WTF!?
"But the upfront cost of Cloth nappies is really expensive" I hear you cry...well let me stop you right there missy!
Yes, the upfront cost of Cloth nappies is more than disposables, But the long term savings are huge, let's do the maths...
Modern cloth nappies range from $14 to $40 so the initial outlay can cost $300 upwards.
if you invest in Cloth nappies you save around $2600 vs disposables overall and thats just for 1 child...you could be saving over $8000 if you have more than one tiny human, That's at least a couple of holidays!
3. The laundry is really not that bad 💩
There's one major stigma attached to cloth nappies, THE WASHING...
In fact our survey at Happy Tushy told us that washing was the top reason that parents were not sold on Cloth nappies.
Understandable since the old image of scrubbing yellow stained terry cloths in the garden still remains at the forefront of people's minds.
Interestingly, we also asked parents who used cloth what they found most challenging and only 20% mentioned the washing..food for thought?! Read on!
Let me tell you about this incredible invention that has changed everyone's lives....WASHING MACHINES!
This wonderful appliance takes all the hard labour out of it, you barely have to do anything, just dry pail, rinse and into the machine ! Voila!
It's also good to know that exclusively breastfed poop nappies can be put straight into the washing machine, no scraping, rinsing or anything! Thanks mother nature!
As time goes by, things get (ahem) chunkier down there, but there are lots of little tricks to help with that. Cue biodegradable, disposable nappy liners which catch solids and goes straight down the loo or bin, keeping nappy (almost) clean- magic!
It's a far cry easier that what our poor Mums used to deal with!
On average it requires about 10 mins a day of extra work, be it washing, drying or organising. Remember you're already dealing with poop on a daily basis, you're now just disposing of it in a slightly different way
4. Cloth nappies are not just enjoyable, they will become your new addiction!
Hands up if you've ever met someone who told you they enjoy using disposables? hmmmm not many.
Our research asked parents on a sliding scale how much they enjoyed using cloth nappies (1 being dislike and 5 being love!)
44% of parents responded a 4, and a huge 46.5 % rated a 5- meaning over 90% or respondents enjoy or love using Cloth 💜
Why you ask?
There's just something joyful about seeing a little tushy in a printed nappy, and something incredibly therapeutic about folding, stuffing and organising nappies. Add on that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you save hundreds of nappies from landfill, it really has that all round 'feel good factor'
5. It's not an all or nothing commitment, do what works for you
Choosing cloth or 'making the switch' can sound like a final all or nothing decision. Well let's help change that thought!
Did you know only 25% of parents use cloth nappies full time? In fact the majority of people pick and choose from frequent use, part time use or just using one a day.
If every family used 1 cloth nappy a day, there would be 100,000,000 less nappies going to landfill every year!! That's about 10% less than the current rate. Its not a fix but it's a huge leap towards a reducing the plastic waste.
Don't feel that you can't participate in cloth as a part timer, or that it becomes somewhat hypocritical to use disposables.
As that famous quote goes
'We don't need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly" Anne Marie Bonneau @zeroewastechef
6. You don't have to be an eco warrior to use Cloth nappies
It's easy to assume 'Cloth mums' are the zero waste, eco warriors of the world. That super mum who has 8 different recycling containers, grows her own veg, never forgets her keep cup and has minimal trace of plastic in their homes.
Well, I'm a cloth mum so let me tell you a little bit about me...I recycle (most the time), I do not have a compost, I don't grow my own vegetables, I own a keep cup but often forget it, I often get caught out at the supermarket without my reusable tote bags (despite having about 500 stored in my kitchen cupboard), I have never participated in plastic free July, II'm not perfect and I use Cloth nappies about 80% of the time, but still use disposables occasionally and I'm proud of that.
You do not have to be an eco warrior to use cloth nappies! Cloth nappies are for everyone and soon enough they will be mainstream alongside keep cups, reusable water bottles and the tote bags, which I bet every single one of you have.
There's no time like the present to give cloth a go , after all you'll do doing yourself, the planet and your bank account a huge favour!
For more information on Cloth nappies and click onto the links below