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CLOTH NAPPIES

WHY USE THEM?

Every baby uses about 6,000 nappies before potty training which equates to:

• 4-5 trees

• 325kg of plastic waste = 1 tonne of landfill waste!! 

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Production of disposable nappies uses chlorine gas to make them fluffy and white, the by- products include harmful chemicals such as dioxins and furans.
Disposable nappies are not biodegradable. Estimates of their true lifespan (how long they take to disappear) vary from 500 to 10,000 years. They can harbour up to 100 different types of virus, including live polio virus from vaccines. These viruses survive for over 2 weeks.

Equivalent waste from hospitals is treated as clinical waste and is not deemed safe to be dumped 
in landfill sites. Of course not all disposables go straight to landfill – Some end up dumped around the city and councils often complain about the cost of getting paper nappies out of drains and waterways.
In fact human waste is not supposed to be landfilled at all and parents are expected to empty the contents of all nappies into the toilet. 
Biodegradable liners really help with this! Parts of the disposable nappy do rot (along with the urine and faeces) and this process gives off gases including methane (which adds to global warming) and releases acids which can help move chemical wastes into groundwater supplies..

 

BETTER FOR BABY

There are chemicals used in disposable nappies that have been long banned in womens hygene products because of their known cancer link yet these chemicals are still used in the gel found in disposables. It is suggested also that the increased temperature of a baby boys genitals when wearing a disposable can cause future fertility issues and lastly a lot of parents leave disposables on the baby far too long. Just because a nappy can absorb 6 hours of wee doesn't mean it should! Nappy rash has become common place since the introduction of disposable nappies and that's because the bacteria from urine is sitting up against a babies genitals and irritating the skin no matter what nappy system you use you MUST change your babies nappy regularly.

NAPPY RASH
There is no evidence to suggest that babies are more likely to get nappy rash in cloth nappies than disposables.
In fact, some studies have found that babies wearing 100% cotton cloth nappies, (which are both cool and breathable) next to their skin are 5 times less likely to get nappy rash than those in
disposable nappies (which contain plastics, perfumes and chemical gels).
Changing your baby often, when wet or soiled, whether in disposable or cloth nappies is the best way to avoid nappy rash.
Other factors which can effect nappy rash include general health and nutrition.
If your baby does seem to be sensitive to cloth nappies, it is most likely to be the washing powder or process that will be the problem, rather than the nappies themselves. Detergents are alkaline while your baby’s skin is slightly acidic. We always add an extra rinse cycle to your nappy wash to extract any remaining detergent.

 

OTHER CAUSES OF NAPPY RASH
Some children develop nappy rash as they are sensitive to certain foods.

If you find that they are developing nappy rash after pooing, even if you are changing almost immediately, it might be worth considering what they are eating.

Oranges or other acidic food, can cause problems for some children, leading to nappy rash. 
Teething is another cause of nappy rash, and many children who have previously had no problems get redness around teething.

The increase in saliva due to teething effects their poo, leading to nappy rash. Plenty of nappy free time, and changing regularly can help with this. 

 

DEALING WITH NAPPY RASH
You may find that at times you will need to do more than changing regularly and plenty of nappy free time. Barrier creams can help, but may coat the fibres of your nappies stopping them from being so absorbent. A flushable liner can prevent this from happening, protecting the nappy. 
There are some cloth friendly barriers that you can use. Egg white, whipped until fluffy and then painted onto your little ones bottom and then allowed to dry can form an effective barrier.

Corn flower also acts as a barrier and helps to keep skin dry. 
Chamomile tea is a good natural treatment for nappy rash, either use it to wash your little ones bottom with, or even place a wipe soaked in the chamomile tea against your babies skin in the nappy. 

 

BAD NAPPY RASH
If your little one starts to suffer with really bad nappy rash, particularly with broken or bleeding skin then you should visit the doctor. It may be that they have developed thrush and need an 
anti-fungal treatment. 
 

 

CHEMICALS & BABY'S HEALTH
Disposable nappies contain many types of chemicals to make them fluffy, white and super-absorbent. 
There are no production standards or any government control to say what is safe to have in disposable nappies or what should not be used, therefore little is actually known about the chemicals which sit against your baby’s absorbent skin for 2.5 years. (Or longer depending upon when your baby is out of nappies.) 
Tributyl tin (TBT) is known to disrupt sex hormones and is used in many disposable nappy brands. Studies have also suggested that the slightly higher temperatures inside disposable nappies compared with cloth, may be contributing to a decline in male fertility. This higher temperature is down to the plastic covering around the nappy which makes it waterproof. 
Unlike the PUL covers that we use with Ecobots, this is not breathable. 
Other studies have suggested that chemicals in disposable nappies can cause breathing problems such as asthma, certainly not something that you would wish to expose your tiny baby to on a 
regular basis. 
Many parents who use disposable nappies have experienced ‘crystals’ on their babies bottom when changing, these are the chemicals from within the disposable nappies that lock away the 
moisture sticking to your babies skin. 
As nappy manufacturers are not required to disclose their “ingredients” there is no way of telling which of these chemicals are present in any particular brand of nappies. You have no way of 
knowing therefore which chemicals you are exposing your baby to. 

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