As I mentioned way back in one of my first posts, I’m trying to make an effort to go green with this baby. I’m not talking Wondersuit colours, but cloth nappies, exclusive breastfeeding (if we can manage it) second-hand clothes and toys etc.
I’m far from a hippy, but the facts on disposable nappies make me pretty ill. Australians use 800 million disposable nappies per year, which ends up as 145,000 cubic metres of landfill. That’s enough to fill the MCG at least three times over each and every year. A single disposable nappy can take as long as 500 years to decompose in landfill. Gross, huh?
Last time, I had the excuse of living in a flat with no outside drying area for why I couldn’t use cloth nappies. Now I have a clothesline, there’s no reason not to give it a try.
Except, that is, that you practically need a PHD in Modern Cloth Nappy (MCN) lingo to figure out what to buy.
I don’t think I’m particularly dim, but when you’re shopping for nappies and the terms “Fuzzi bunz size small and Bumgenius OSFM” appear, well, I need a Guide for Dummies (this glossary is a good place to start).
You see, cloth nappies have changed since the terry towelling squares our mothers pinned us in to. Modern Cloth Nappies are made from fabrics like hemp or bamboo and are often cut into a ‘fitted’ nappy shape, just like a disposable. Some are all-in-one jobs, others have pockets that can be stuffed with more absorbent materials. Then there are the associated liners, covers, boosters and fasteners. Confusing much?
Most cloth nappy brands have cute, often scatological names like BumGenius, Monkey Doodlez, Happy Heiney’s or Fuzzibunz.
My own ’stash’ so far contains a few Tot Bots Bamboozles, some Mother-ease covers, a Blueberry AIO and a few homemade terry fitted nappies. I’ll probably need many more to have enough for every day of the week: a full time package of one-size, all-in-one cloth nappies (with washing every 2 days) is about $850.
If that sounds like a hell of a lot of money to spend on poo-cloths, consider that disposable nappies will set you back about $20 a week, for at least two years, plus overnight nappies for a year or more after that. We’re talking several thousand bucks, folks, without factoring in the environmental impact.
The environmental savings aren’t actually that incredible — great article on the subject in The Independent — but when combined with the cost savings it’s a pretty compelling option.
For more tips on sustainable parenthood, check out the new book Sustainable Baby by Debbie Hodgson. Billed as ‘A parent’s practical guide for consuming less and living better’, it is full of simple ideas for living a less commercial lifestyle, like how to re-use clothes and make your own baby food.
I’m speaking to Debbie today and hoping to get a few special tips for Babble readers.
Printed from Babble Australia (babble.com.au). Copyright 2008 Allure Media. All rights reserved.