Nappies: Disposables Vs Cloth

I feel like I am about to start reading Beauty and the Beast with this one. Disposable nappies vs cloth nappies is an age old argument, or indeed "a tale as old as time".

As always this topic can lead to a heated discussion about what is and isn't the best way, and as always the varying opinions can cause rifts in groups of mothers who are debating for and against each side. Well trigger warning for those Mum's out there reading this and thinking that I am going to pick and choose a side, the answer is no. I have used both cloth and disposable nappies in my time and I find pros and cons to both sides of the coin. I, of course, have my own preference. But that is all that it is, a preference. 

So if I am not here to give you all the answers, what am I writing this for? Well I wanted to give you something solid that has actual backing research and experience behind it when choosing which way to go. Sort of the pros and cons laid out for you simply in one place rather then in a hundred. 

Before we go on, I will say I am a cloth nappies mum. After spending ages swapping between disposables and cloth, I have chosen to stay with cloth for a variety of reasons. This does somewhat affect my opinion when writing this post (I am only human), but I will try to be as objective as possible. 

Cost:

Now if you are like me, the first thing you will want to know about is cost. How much does each option cost over the long and short term. 

To be honest, it is no secret that long term, cloth nappies are the most cost affective compared to decent disposables. Before we continue let me define decent for disposable nappies. 

Firstly, disposable nappies come in a variety of price ranges. It is no surprise that the quality, absorbency and the number of nasty chemicals in the padding gel also varies. I have recently discovered on Youtube a couple of Australian mums comparing brands in price and quality using nothing but a cup of water to see how well the fluid is soaked up. Babies pee a lot, so the better the absorbency rate, the better the nappy. Although the brands vary slightly, it is safe to say in the Australian market, Huggies nappies take the cake in both absorbency and cost. So Huggies are the best disposable nappy through out the tests, but they are also the dearest. 

So lets focus on Huggies nappies. A box of newborn nappies (109 nappies) is about $40.00 at my local supermarkets (give or take a few dollars). As baby grows, the size of nappies get larger (no duh) but what some do not notice, is that as you buy the bigger sizes the number in the box decreases - the price stays the same (ie a box of toddler nappies includes 56 nappies - price is still approximately $40.00). This I believe is beyond a joke, I don't want to keep paying $40.00 for progressively less and less nappies. Where's the value for money in that. 

Calculating cost per annum based on what I would use per week in disposables (admittedly I am an avid nappy changer I probably change Kyran too much), I would easily go through a box per fortnight at a push but likely most of a box within a week. Working off worst case per year I would be spending $2080.00, best case scenario $1040.00 per year.

Its shocking when you look at those figures, you never really think about it when you do your weekly shop. 

Now onto cloth nappies. I purchased a bulk pack of 20 nappies with 20 microfibre liners for $97.00, microfibre liners are about as absorbent as a drenched towel so I then went and purchased 20 bamboo trifold liners for the nappies. For all of the liners it cost me $200.00 as I (regretfully) purchased from a store front instead of shopping around online (rookie mistake). That is a total cost of $297.00 for 20 nappies. Most mums would be jumping up and down by now asking how often I have to do washing etc. Well 20 nappies gave me enough to be able to wash each day usually but if I had a day where I didn't get to it, no big deal. I have spares. 

Now unlike other pro-cloth mums I am not going to just say that where the cost ends, because sometimes it doesn't end there. If you are afraid of washing normal clothes, towels etc with nappies then you may find your water usage creep up. I noticed an extra $30 per quarter in mine when I was washing every day (probably due to both my postnatal needs and my son's nappies). However, eventually I gave in and starting doing loads of miscellaneous washing with the nappies and found that the bill came back down to normal again (having horses and playing sports, I end up doing a load a day to keep up with the washing anyway).

Total cost of cloth nappies per year - for the first year $386.00 approximately inclusive of water usage per year, thereafter if I assume the water usage excess remains $90.00 per year.

So here is your cost conclusions: Disposable nappies will cost you nothing in water but $2080 (or $1040 at the very least) every year until toilet training. Cloth will cost you a once off of $297.00 approximately (depending on brand and where you purchase - ebay is your friend) plus $90.00 in water usage per year (worst case scenario).

One more thing to look at with cost, once your kids have outgrown the cloth nappies, many people wash and resell the nappies to new mums starting out. Currently I know someone who recently bought 30 cloth nappies second hand for $180.00, based on this and a few of the preloved adverts I have viewed myself,  it is safe to say cloth nappies retain value for quite sometime. 

Environmental Implications:

They are some people out there who probably don't think about the environmental implications of disposable nappies, non-biodegradable wet wipes and the like because either 1) out of sight out of mind or 2) don't know, don't care. Well maybe not so much on the don't care, some people just genuinely don't know. It's not like Huggies plaster how un-environmentally friendly their products are on their adverts, if they did... Well no one would buy them. Its a simple matter of not lying to the customers but not exactly being upfront either. 

So lets starts with some simple statistics. I know some will say 99% of statistics are made up (irony is not lost on this one). However, as always I have left some resources for you to look at should you wish to clarify my sources (don't trust me yet huh?). 

According to Australian Science, Australian families go through about 5.6 billion nappies per year country wide and of that, 2 billion nappies end up in landfill each year. Wow that is far more than I actually thought and I have to admit reading this information has shocked me to no end. 

Now this is just Australian statistics, so just for fun I checked on American figures as well and it sits comfortably at 27.4 billion nappies in landfill per year. Imagine what the figure would be world wide. Perish the thought!

What I bet you didn't know is that due to what the nappies are actually made of (which believe me, isn't great chemical wise - but we will get to that later), it takes over 500 years for 1 nappy to decompose. Now when you 450,000 tonnes of it going in every year it becomes concerning as to how long we can sustain using these products. We really cannot even sustain using them now.

Furthermore, fun fact: there is a reason humans defecate into a toilet. When we use the toilet the waste is then treated, sanitised and recycled or put back into the environment. When our kids defecate into a nappy, and then that nappy goes into the bin, those waste products then go into landfill (ok Anni we know this already, here’s the kicker), those nappies are filled with nasty virus’ and bacteria before they even get to landfill and hit the ground. According to Australian Science article "Disposable Nappies: Are they Stinking up our Planet?" those virus' and bacteria have been known to be absorbed into the ground and then into our ground water supply. This causes concern for future contamination issues. It caused concern for contamination issues now!! 

Now, nappies in landfill isn't the only issue. When you take into consideration the impact the manufacturing of cloth nappies (which requires large amounts of pulp, paper, plastics, insane amounts of water and energy) it all starts to add up very quickly. In fact so much water and energy is being used in the disposable nappy industry, scientists are concerned about the energy and water pollution that is now being found as a direct result of disposable nappies. Convenient for us, but Skippy the Kangaroo and her mates aren't having such a great time about it. 

Now, if you must use disposable nappies please try to at least opt for the biodegradable option. I know that it involves more regular nappy changes and of course a higher cost (because everything remotely environmentally friendly has a price tag similar to new season Gucci), but lets face it at this point you're already spending unnecessary amounts of money by opting for disposables anyway. An extra $5 isn't going to kill you. 

Obviously your cloth nappies have the smallest environmental impact and are your better option if you are looking at things strictly from a "save the forest" point of view. At this point I shouldn't need to explain why... 

What is really going on baby's bottom:

Just for something different I am going to start with the cloth nappies. 

The options are endless for cloth nappies as to what you are putting on baby's skin. However, the most popular fabric choices are bamboo and charcoal blends that are used for both liners and the nappy shell (if your using Modern Cloth Nappies as opposed to those that you hand fold like in the 1920s).

This blend has been reported and blogged to be the most absorbent and gentle on little bums when it comes to cloth nappies. Great! What about the chemicals your use to wash these nappies? Well I always opt for a sensitive skin washing detergent anyway because even if you use disposables, you still have baby outfits to wash and subsequently, put on baby. However, if you are really fussy like myself you can make or purchase environmentally friendly, chemical free laundry detergent. You may need to do some hunting for that one but it is definitely worth it. 

Onto disposables. Now, very little to no mum's commonly know this information because unfortunately for us measly members of the general public, big manufacturers are not legally obligated to list the ingredients or processes used in the nappies. It is not for consumption, therefore we don't need to know about it. Well at least, thats how it feels when you start reading into the chemicals, and that’s without the detailed pictures of the chemical burns. 

At risk of not being thorough enough, I found it very hard to find actual ingredients lists or alike for disposable nappies and even harder to find companies that will even admit that chemicals are present in the manufacturing of their nappies. However, I did find 2 common ingredient types (again hard to find exact ingredients as this topic keeps getting swept under the rug) used to ensure the advertised "extra absorbent" is met by the manufacturer. Dioxins and Sodium Polyacrylate which have not only be scientifically proven to be toxic, but have also been linked to cancer, infertility, respiratory issues (asthma and respiratory distress), hormonal and thyroid issues, cognitive and developmental issues, immune suppression, diabetes, endometriosis and my personal favourite - chemical burns. And that is just listing a few. 

Now when you turn on my "psycho, will not drop it, academic researcher mode". This is what you get.... No only do Dioxins cause nappy rash and burns but they are listed as a known carcinogen. Which means, we know this causes cancer. At risk of being sued I cannot brand drop but 4 out of 5 companies that make nappies are the worst culprits for using this chemical for its "ultra absorbent capabilities", the 1 in 5 that doesn't is the one company that makes biodegradable nappies from bamboo fibres. Another awesome fact about Dioxins is that it has a tendency to stick around in the human body, kind of like being exposed to asbestos when your 12 and ending up with asbestosis when your 70. Further concerning fact, no one in science industry disagrees about whether or not Dioxins are bad for humans, everyone in the scientific community agrees. Now that is a concerning miracle if ever I saw one. 

Phthalates are also common in disposable nappies. Generally used as a softener for the plastic components in the nappy. Also a known endocrine disruptor. For those of us who don't speak anatomy, anything with the word endocrine refers the system in your body responsible for your hormones. This particular chemical has been known to play tricks on your brain without you even

knowing about it, basically sending false signals through your endocrine "communication" system to head office (brain) which cause HR management to send down unnecessary resources. Think about unnecessary occupational health and safety procedures that wastes everyone’s time and probably makes a bad situation worse,  that is basically what happens here. Surprise, surprise, big corporations thought it a good idea to stick it on our baby's bottoms. 

I could sit here and go on all night about disposable nappies and chemicals. But I won't because, at some stage this post needs to stop. So instead I have attached a photo from a journal of 2nd degree chemical burns from a disposable nappy's "ultra absorbent" lining bursting. 

Cloth Nappies are cuter

Ok not really an officially proven argument. But look at some of these patterns AND you can choose what you like. You're not limited to what Huggies decided was suitable for a boy or a girl nappy pattern (I know I mention Huggies a lot, its just a brand that is popular in Australia and I can't remember any of the names of the others). 

Well I hope you found this post helpful. As always send me a message should you have any questions and you can find some resources below. 

Forever Yours

Anni

Alternet Health: Toxins in Huggies and Pampers Aren't What You Want to Put Near Baby's Skin. Jill Richardson: https://www.alternet.org/personal-health/toxic-diapers-your-childs-disposable-diapers-contain-endocrine-disruptors

Australian Science: Disposable Nappies: Are they stinking up our planet? Michelle Lee.

http://www.australianscience.com.au/environmental-science/disposable-nappies-are-they-stinking-up-our-planet/