Cloth Vs Disposables

 

1) I thought cloth was supposed to be cheap, but it looks quite expensive to me?

At first glance, it can appear this way. But remember- looks can be deceiving! Cloth is affordable, much cheaper than disposables, and below I will show you a comparison. But first of all I want to explain something. No matter what you buy, you will always pay a little more money for quality and convenience. A good quality fitted cloth system may cost a little more upfront than what you expected, but don’t worry, it should be viewed as an investment- it is really important to make sure you have a nappy system that is reliable and durable…. We all want value for money, right?

Okay, now here is a breakdown of costs for disposable nappies. These figures have been chosen as a general guide- some babies use more nappies than described below. The cost of disposables varies – cheaper brands might cost between 25 and 35 cents per nappy but you are likely to use more nappies and experience more leaks. Huggies or other premium brands might cost you up to 55 cents (or 48 cents if on special). Since we’ve minimised the number of changes to 7 per day including night, we used an average 40 cents per nappy cost to buy a nappy that is less susceptible to leaks and blowouts.

On those figures, consider the following costs:

  • A 6 week old will have an average 6000 nappy changes ($2400- more from birth obviously!)
  • A 6 month old will have an average 5000 more nappy changes ($2000)
  • A 12 month old will have an average 3800 more nappy changes ($1520)
  • An 18 month old will have an average 2500 more nappy changes
    ($1000)
  • A 24 month old will still have about 1200 more nappy changes ($480)

PLUS, you have additional costs such as wipes to consider as well.

Now, you would need to almost double these costs if you have two babies in disposables.

Consider a modern cloth alternative with Baby BeeHinds™ :


Full Time Baby BeeHinds™ system

Baby BeeHinds nappies last from birth to toddlerhood, making them a one size fits most system. This means you will not have to spend money buying different sizes, so you save money!

Nappy Package 1:

25 Hemp Honeys + 3 packs of microfleece liners (Retail cost = $687.50, package price= $618.75. YOU SAVE $68.75) + FREE registered shipping anywhere in Australia + 10% discount off every cover you order

Or

Nappy Package 2:

22 Plush Comforts + 3 Hemp Honeys + 3 packs of microfleece liners (Retail cost = $575.75, package price = $518.20. YOU SAVE $57.57) + FREE registered shipping anywhere in Australia + 10% discount off every cover you order

Covers

This is what we recommend to provide you with enough covers to last right through from Birth to Toddlerhood. How many you buy though, is totally up to you.

  • 6 Small covers
  • 2 Small wool covers
  • 4 Medium PUL covers
  • 2 Medium wool covers
  • 3 Large PUL covers
  • 2 Large wool covers

A cover order like this would retail at $350.00, however if you order a nappy package, all covers are entitled to a 10% discount, which brings the price down to $315.00)
You will also receive FREE registered post to anywhere in Australia. If you are enquiring internationally, you will receive a postage discount.

GRAND TOTALS:

DISPOSABLES = Approximately $2400 plus wipes per child

Baby BeeHinds™ CLOTH = approx $830 inc nappies, liners and covers to last right through from birth to toddler, and still able to be used on more babies! For wipes, you can use face washers, hemmed fabric scraps, etc. and just wash in with your nappies. Easy! AND affordable.

THIS MEANS THAT YOU SAVE A WHOPPING $1600.00!!!

And to make it even better for your hip pocket, you can use the nappies again and again on subsequent children and/or sell them second hand for quite a good resale value! You really can’t go wrong using cloth.

2) Okay then, you have convinced me about the fantastic financial savings, but isn’t using cloth a lot of hard work?

Nope! Certainly not! When you consider that you will have to wash, rewash, and wash again clothes, sheets and just about everything else due to leaking disposables, washing a load of cloth nappies every second day is a piece of cake, because it is a very rare occurrence that you will experience leaks whilst using a quality cloth system. Besides, having a baby means extra washing anyway. Seriously, an extra load every two days hardly makes a difference.

And contrary to popular belief, you do NOT have to soak nappies, and cart around heavy water filled buckets. Nor do you need to wash poo-ey nappies by hand. It really is a simple process to care for your nappies! Check out 'caring for your nappy system' to see how modern mummas use their modern cloth nappies.

3) I was expressing my interest in using cloth nappies not only for financial reasons, but also for environmental reasons. Then someone told me that cloth is just as bad environmentally as disposables. Is this true?

Lucky for you, whoever told you that was, quite simply, wrong. It is a common misconception unfortunately. No matter what anyone tells you, when you consider the raw materials, the water and the chemicals needed to even produce a single plastic disposable nappy, only to have it thrown out a couple of hours later, cloth wins hands down every time. And then you have to consider the environmental impact of the millions upon millions of disposable nappies buried in our beautiful Earth……… disposable nappies that take generations (quite a few generations I might add) to begin to break down.
Here are some stastistics:

A subsequent study conducted by Landbank Consultancy in 1991 had the following findings;

Impact per Infant per Year*

 

Cloth

Disposable

Impact Difference

Energy

 2532MJ 8900MJ 3.5x

Waste Water

 12.4 cubic metres 28 cubic metres 2.3x

Raw Materials : renewable

 25kg 208kg 8.3x

Raw Materials: non-renewable

 4kg 361kg 90x

Domestic Solid Waste

 4kg 240kg 60x

Land for Raw Materials

 1,150-6,800ha 29,500-32,300ha 4-30x

It’s quite a shock really, isn’t it. Remember those figures above are per infant. When you think about the millions of infants who are wearing disposables, the reality is you simply cannot ignore the damage.
*Link, A. (2003) Disposable nappies: a case study in waste prevention. Women's Environment Network.

4) Is it true that disposable nappies are harmful to baby's health?

This information has been lifted from this website

"A much more potentially serious problem associated with disposable nappies is the ease of disease transmission via faeces left on the nappy and then disposed of in regular household waste. More than 100 enteric viruses are excreted in human faeces, including hepatitis and polio (if the live vaccine is used for immunisation) Viruses can live for months creating risks to both sanitation workers and contamination of ground water in landfills.5 Research into the long term health impacts of different nappy types is in its infancy.

Areas of concern include the absorbent gels in disposables, raised scrotal temperatures, the contamination of plastics with TBT (tributyl tin), chlorine bleaching of the wood pulp used in nappies and possible respiratory implications.
The super absorbent get contained in most disposable nappies is supposed to be non toxic and has been approved by the American Food and Drug Administration. However there is a distinct lack of research into the effects of extreme dryness on babies' thin skin and genitalia.6

The super-absorbent gel can include sodium polyacrylate crystals which forms a gel when in contact with urine. There are particular concerns about these super-absorbent chemicals entering the body via broken skin especially as sodium polyacrylate and other chemicals designed to increase absorbency have had to be removed from tampons as they were associated with the development of Toxic Shock Syndrome.7

Recent research has also suggested that disposable nappies keep babies' testicles at higher than normal temperatures. This has raised concern over whether this could pose a risk to their future fertility.8

TBT or tributyl tin is a very toxic chemical, it can contaminate certain types of plastic during manufacture. Recently commissioned research has shown significant levels of TBT in many brands of disposable nappy, babies may be in contact with up to 3.6 times the World Health Organisation's estimated tolerable daily intake. TBT is a recognised environmental pollutant, it is used as ship paint. It is known to disrupt the immune and hormonal systems of marine shellfish and there are international plans to phase out its use.9

Chlorine bleaching is used much less than previously in the bleaching of wood pulp for white paper products. Chlorine bleaching creates toxic dioxins, dioxins are considered to be extremely toxic, so much so that there is debate over whether safe levels actually exist.10 The issue when it comes to nappies is that the manufactures are not required to print the nappy materials or processing details on their packaging.

An independent study done in 1999 has shown that the airborne emissions of some disposable nappies can produce acute respiratory toxicity, including asthma like reactions, in normal laboratory mice. The researchers suggest that further study is required into a possible link between disposable nappies and the increasing prevalence of childhood asthma.
Refrences

1. Golding, J et al. (1997) Getting to the Bottom of Nappy Rash, University of Bristol.
2. Research currently being undertaken at the University of Queensland, coordinated by Dr Kate O'Brien, Lecturer in Environmental Modeling, Engineering Dept.
3. Link, A. (2003) Disposable nappies: a case study in waste prevention. Women's Environment Network.
4. Getting to the bottom of diaper rash. (1996) Medical Post. Toronto, 32(10), 53.
5. Primomo, J et al. (1990) The high environmental cost of disposable diapers. Journal of Maternal and Child Nursing, 15(5)279-84.
6. Nappies and the Environment. (2000) Women and the Environment.
7. Heal, C., Cooper, C. (2001) Other Implications of Disposable Nappies. Archive of Disease in Childhood, 85(3) 269.
8. Partsch, C. et al. (2000) Scrotal temperature is increased in disposable plastic-lined nappies. Archives of Disease in Childhood, vol.83, 364-8.
9. Heal, C., Cooper, C. (2001) Other Implications of Disposable Nappies. Archive of Disease in Childhood, 85(3) 269.
10. Costello, A. et al. (1989) The Sanitary Protection Scandal. The Women's Environment Network.
11. Anderson, R & J. (1999) Acute Respiratory Effects of Diaper Emissions. Archives of Environmental Health, 54(5)353-8.

Though no official studies have conclusive evidence yet, one may have noticed the increase in rates of testicular cancer in the western world since the introduction of disposable nappies to everyday life. Also, have you ever noticed that disposable nappies often split and leave little beaded chemical crystals on a baby's skin? Common sense tells you that little balls of chemicals so close to a baby's genitals cannot be healthy. Remember, all babies come from a pure environment inside the womb and are not used to facing harsh chemicals, let alone having them against their bare skin 24/7. And with modern cloth providing a safe, reliable, just-as-easy alternative, it makes sense to make the healthier choice and use fabric.

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