Why Cloth?
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Cloth Nappies: Why?
Because it is no longer about hard to fold tough terry towelling
nappies. Cloth nappies have come into the 21st Century. There are
many reasons why I decided to put my son Louis in cloth nappies and
to tell you the truth the environment was at the bottom of the list.
Health, comfort and reliability were my first concerns.
? Health
There is evidence that cotton nappies are better for your baby than
disposables and there are a number of reasons for this. Disposable
diapers are so wonderfully absorbent because they contain tiny beads
of a gel substance called sodium polyacrylate. Sodium polyacrylate
can absorb 100 times its weight in water. Tampon manufacturers also
loved sodium polyacrylate, until 1985 when it was removed from
tampons because women who left their tampons in too long contracted
“toxic shock syndrome” – suffering from fevers, rashes, and even
death. No studies have been conducted on the long term effects of
sodium polyacrylate on the health of small children, yet it stands
to reason that the 2 1/2 years of exposure to this substance – often
for long periods of time in the same diaper – may cause some serious
troubles for our little ones. Another chemical trybutil tin has been
shown to cause shellfish to change sex.
More alarmingly disposables cause the testicles to become overheated
in disposables. For testicles to develop normally they need to be
cooler than the average body temperature that is why they hang
between the legs. A team from the pediatric department of the
University of Kiel in Germany measured the temperature of the
scrotum of 48 healthy boys aged between zero and 55 months. They
found that when the children wore plastic nappies, the temperature
was consistently higher than when they wore cloth nappies. ‘The
physiological testicular cooling mechanism is blunted and often
completely abolished during plastic nappy use,’ they conclude.
Although more research is needed the initial results are alarming.
In October, 1999 the Archives of Environmental Health reported a
study in which laboratory mice were exposed to various brands of
disposable and cotton diapers. Diapers were opened right from their
packages and exposed to mice. The mice exposed to disposables
suffered bronchoconstriction similar to that of an asthma attack.
These mice also experienced eye, nose, and throat irritation. In
both small containment spaces and a large room, the emissions from
one disposable were enough to elicit an asthma-like response in the
mice.
One of the best ways of knowing if your baby is getting enough
breast milk is to count the number of wet nappies. This is very
reassuring when you first start breastfeeding. This is difficult to
do with disposable nappies because they are so absorbent.
Furthermore cloth nappies are unscented and are less likely to cause
irritation in babies with sensitive skin
Cloth is better for rashes because cotton is naturally breathable.
Furthermore, with cloth diapers it is easier to tell when they are
wet, so you are apt to change your baby more frequently and keep
rashes at bay.
? Comfort
Of course this is difficult to judge because unfortunately our
babies can’t tell us. But it just felt right to put Louis in cotton
instead of disposables because I knew that I would rather wear cloth
underwear . Cloth is reassuring and comforting much as comfort foods
are. Cloth diapers are natural, soft and lovely against the skin and
cute to boot.
Cloth diapered babies tend to potty train earlier too. Cloth
diapered children average 24-30 months in diapers, while children in
disposables average 36-42 months. Children in cloth know they are
wet and therefore are generally more motivated to be potty trained.
Disposable diapers keep babies and toddlers feeling so “dry” that
they often don’t mind being in diapers.
? Reliability
There is a common belief that cloth diapers leak while disposables
don’t, but I have found the opposite to be true especially at night.
Certainly, if left too long on a child, cloth diapers will wet
through, but rarely do they leak. I have often found Louis lying on
wet sheets because his pee has shot strait out of the disposable
nappy. I found disposables downright ineffective at containing the
blow out newborn poo that seemed to explode out of disposables and
run up Louis’ back. A good cloth nappy will prevent leaks and stop
poo from running up your baby’s back. And cloth nappies are harder
to pull off than disposables once your toddler has figured out to
pull his nappy.
? Finance
Most mothers who use cloth nappies dump their baby’s poo in the
toilet and dry pail their nappies until wash nappies 2 to 3 times a
week.
Washing cloth nappies does not faze you but the extra costs of
washing does? Would you be surprised to find out that disposables
cost a lot more then cloth nappies even when washing is taken into
account? The following calculations were done using the Australian
Consumers’ Association Choice (www.choice.com.au) nappy calculator.
Buying a pack of 40, Dry Bubs Premium and using 10 disposable
nappies a day costs:
20.91$ per week
544.00$ for 6 months.
However, washing with a top lauder and warm water, with Omo High
Performance Concentrate costs :
8.81$ per week/ Line drying 9.46$ per week/ Using a drier
230.00$for 6 months/Line drying 246.00$ for 6 months/Using a drier
Using No Frills Concentrate Laundry Powder in a top lauder costs:
5.73$ per week/ Line drying 6.38$ per week/ Using a drier
149.00$ for 6 months/Line drying 166.00$ for 6 months/Using a drier
? Environment
Last but not least, using cloth nappies is not only better for your
baby, your wallet but also the environment
Every baby creates 845 kg of nappy waste before being toilet trained
said Environment Minister John Twaites (Melissa Fyfe; Environment
reporter; September ¼) About 91 % of Australian parents choose
disposable over cloth nappies, resulting in 800 million nappies
taking up 145, 000 cubic meters of landfills each year. ((Melissa
Fyfe; Environment reporter; September 01/04).
Are you thinking there is not much of a choice between landfills and
using water? Especially now, when we are in a drought…
In reality,
Disposables use 3.5 times more energy, 2.3 times more water and 8.3
times as many irreplaceable raw materials as reusable nappies.
Every nappy, 75% of which is faeces and urine and 25% plastic, paper
and chemicals, takes 500 years to degrade in a landfill. As the
rubbish rots; it produces methane gas, a powerful greenhouse gas
much more potent than CO2 and a toxic liquid called leachate, among
other chemicals, which can leach out of landfills and poison local
rivers.
Disposables consume 90 times more renewable raw materials, create 60
times more solid waste and require up to 30 times more land.
REFERENCES:
Rob Edwards. The Ecologist; Rethinking Basic Assumptions (22/03/01).
www.theecologist.org
The Australian Consumers’ Association
www.choice.com.au
Melissa Fyfe. Hot Topics. (09/01/04).
www.melmidwifery.com.au
Lehrburger, Mullen, Jones. Diapers: Environmental Impacts and
Lifecycle Analysis. January 1991.
Brideau, Lungard, Seaton. Alternatives in Diapering. 1995.
S.E. Krushel, "Management Land Requirements, Reusable Cotton vs.
Paper Pulp for Absorbent Core of Diapers," Report to the Product
Environmental Assessment Consultation of the Niagara Institute,
January 1993. Addendum: Canadian Requirements.
Proctor & Gamble, Inc. maintains that the trees for PAMPERS come
from tree farms in the U.S., not from clear-cutting natural boreal
forests. However, if these existing tree farms were not n eeded for
diapers, they could be used to meet other needs, and some natural
lands, slated for slated for clear-cutting, could possibly be
spared. (The trees used for diapers are also suitable for making
paper and lumber products) (source: see footnote 2)
Carl Lehrburger with Rachel Snyder, "The Disposable Diaper Myth,"
Whole Earth Review. Fall 1988:61.
"The Joy of Cloth Diapers" by Jane McConnell, Mothering, May-June
1998.
Farrisi, T.R. "Diaper Changes: The Complete Diapering and Resource
Guide", Richland, Homekeepers Publishing, 1997.
Lehrburger, Mullen, Jones study, commissioned by the National
Association of Diaper Services.
"Energy and Environmental Profile Analysis of Children's Disposable
and Cloth Diapers," Franklin Associates Ltd. (1990)
"Both Sides Now" - Doug Smitheman & K. Amies, Alberta Parent,
March/April 1991.
"Canadian Consumer", April 1986, pg. 25
These improvements took place before the lifecycle inventory studies
were conducted, and were taken into account.
] U.S. EPA, "The Solid Waste Dilemma: An Agenda for Action,"
Municipal Solid Waste Task Force, 1989 EPA/530-SW-89-019.
Rahje, William L., "Rubbish!" , The Atlantic Monthly, December 1989.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). "Integrated Risk Assessment
for Dioxins and Furans from Chlorine Bleaching in Pulp and Paper
Mills.
"Disposable Diapers Linked to Asthma," Mothering Magazine. Issue 98,
January/February 2000
Anderson, Rosalind, and Julius Anderson. “Acute Respiratory Effects
of Diaper Emissions,” Archives of Environmental Health, 54, October
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| Bummis Super Whisper Wrap |
| $16.50 |
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| Any pandy print covers |
| $18.00 |
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| Bummis Super Whisper Wrap Jungle |
| $18.00 |
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| Taylormade Stretch cotton slings |
| $80.10 |
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| Colour grown cotton slings |
| $92.50 |
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| Baba Slings |
| $90.00 |
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| Contour diaper/Sold out |
| $57.00 |
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| Organic Imse vimse all-in-ones |
| $32.00 |
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