When my partner and I became new parents deciding on which nappy to use was no mean feat. Apparently having the “right” kind of nappy can make all the difference. So what is the “right” kind of nappy? When we started to look into the options we were completely overwhelmed – so many styles and brands to choose from, which ones would be most absorbent, which ones would be better for the environment, what could we afford?
Once we had emerged from the early blur of parenthood. we eventually settled on a combination of reusables and disposables. However, by the birth of our second baby, we were committed to using cloth reusables, thinking that we were doing the environment a favour. No more wheeling out garbage bins full of stinky disposables. But now we had the washing machine working around the clock, using up enough water to fill a dozen Olympic swimming pools.
What next? Despite doing loads of research on, and trying out various brands and styles, we were still left with the environmental impact of our nappy usage.
Whilst there is an ongoing nappy debate about the merits of using reusable versus disposable, there is no arguing that every nappy used has a lasting impact on the environment – disposables with their massive use of non-renewable resources and bleaching chemicals; and cloth and reusable nappies with large amounts of pesticides and water used during the growth of conventional cotton, plus the ongoing water, energy and detergent usage to keep them clean.
So I decided the only way to lessen our nappy environmental impact was to do something about it — wee by wee, poo by poo and tree by tree.
Rob Clode
Founder