Why Choose Cloth Nappies?

Why should I choose reusable nappies (or washable diapers) over disposables?  Surely this is going backwards in time? No not at all.  Modern cloth nappy designs are a long way removed from the days of nappy pins, sweaty plastic pants and boil washing terry nappies.  In fact many parents who have used disposables are switching to washable cloth nappies and have never looked back!  The reusable nappies of today are shaped to fit your baby and can have velcro/Aplix or poppered fastenings for ease of use. Nappies can be made from a range of fabrics such as quick drying (e.g. microfibre), organic cotton or eco friendly bamboo or hemp.

There are a number of reasons parents choose real nappies over disposables for their children. These include:

The Environment
Significant cost savings
Reduction of chemicals next to a baby's skin
Softness of cloth rather than paper
There is little smell (unlike disposables)
Superior performance
Convenience (not running out)
Range of colours and designs

There can be one dominant reason or several that are important. You may find for example that your original reason for choosing real nappies was the environment but that cost, performance and a cloth nappy buying addiction soon have equal rating!

As well as using reusable cloth nappies full time you can of course use disposables as well. Whilst some parents only use washable nappies, many use them part of the time choosing disposables when on holidays without washing facilities, when flying abroad, when out and about or at night. Reusable cloth nappies are however easy to use when out (you just bring them home in a waterproof nappy bag) and are effective at night-time if sufficiently boosted.

Nappies and the environment

You may have heard that reusable nappies are no more beneficial to the environment than disposables. An initial report by the environment agency suggested this but a revised report released in 2008 concluded that washable cloth nappies if laundered responsibly can be significantly better for the environment than disposable nappies reducing carbon emissions by up to 40%. The revised Defra report can be found here

Cloth Nappy Costs

When totting up the cost of cloth nappies it can be quite daunting – particularly as most of the investment is up front. However, looking at the total amount spent on nappies it is possible to save a significant amount of money between birth and potty training for a first child and significantly more for additional children.

The Cloth Nappy Tree (a forum for cloth nappy advocates) have published a cost comparison which suggests you can save upwards of £800 using reusable nappies and wipes compared to disposable nappies and wipes.

Even if you use the most expensive cloth nappy option, Green Jelly believes you can save at least £300-500 for your first child in washable nappies and significantly more for subsequent children.

The Cloth Nappy Tree cost comparison can be accessed here