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TraceyA 
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Joined: 10 January 2008
Location: Motueka, Tasman
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 Topic: Eco-Mum
Posted: 01 October 2008 at 6:29pm |
I just found this website that has some interesting info and links regarding cloth vs disposable nappies and the eco options out there. The sight is focused at people living in Brisbane Australia but I figured it's relevant all round. http://www.ecomum.com.au/baby-needs.php
What other things are people doing to be more Eco?
Edited to also add this little link I just found
Organic Baby
Edited by TraceyA
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Danaj
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Joined: 25 March 2008
Location: Palmy North
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Posted: 01 October 2008 at 9:30pm |
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I'm sad to say that being eco has fallen by the way side when I think of nappies etc. I think the manufacturers of the major brands are being a bit more proactive in regards to biodegradable products these days? I just can't bear the thought of scrubbing out cloth nappies.
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kebakat
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Joined: 01 January 1900
Location: Palmy North
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Posted: 01 October 2008 at 9:34pm |
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We use cloth naps and wipes and there is no scrubbing in this household - I'm very very very lazy when it comes to domestic chores so wouldn't have a bar of it if it was hard or involved scrubbing etc lol
We also are switching to ecostore products. We find them better than the others so far so thats cool.
We also compost, dunno if that counts but its ecofriendly
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Danaj
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Posted: 01 October 2008 at 9:37pm |
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So how do you clean the baby poo out of the cloth nappies? I wouldn't be adverse to using them as I know disposables are terrible for the environment. I just always thought they were a major to deal with? Don't they leak out the sides and back? Are they better for nappy rash?
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TraceyA
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Posted: 01 October 2008 at 9:42pm |
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Danaj you really should have a read of some of the sites I posted before, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. The better made cloth nappies certainly don't leak (so I've been told over and over again) and if you put in a biodegradable liner (that can be flushed without impact on the environment I'm told) then there is absolutely no scrubbing required because the poop just flushes down the loo and then you through the nappies in the wash, easy. There are also brands of eco-disposable nappies that can go into the compost (poop down the loo first).
Stacey, I also use the eco brand stuff in my laundry, bathroom and kitchen, I find it lasts longer then the rest, I don't get eczema anymore either. It's good stuff.
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Danaj
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Posted: 01 October 2008 at 9:45pm |
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I'll jump on and have a look at the site. Haven't really thought about cloth nappies to tell you the truth but always keen to have a look.
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Emmecat
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Posted: 02 October 2008 at 8:41am |
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Natalie_G
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Posted: 02 October 2008 at 9:08am |
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I am starting to turn Eco friendly all the chemicals in products we buy these days cant really be good for us and newborn babies.
I am going to cloth nappies I will be getting a pack of itti bitti and my mum will also make some nappies for me, however I will be using flusable liners for soilds I am not a scrubber myself.
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LeahandJoel
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Posted: 02 October 2008 at 9:43am |
We use cloth naps on both kids, reusable shopping bags so no plastic, some ecostore and other similar products. We have also wrapped our hot water cylinder to keep power costs down.
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kebakat
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Location: Palmy North
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Posted: 02 October 2008 at 10:35am |
 Danaj wrote:
So how do you clean the baby poo out of the cloth nappies? I wouldn't be adverse to using them as I know disposables are terrible for the environment. I just always thought they were a major to deal with? Don't they leak out the sides and back? Are they better for nappy rash? |
You can use liners and the liner falls into the toilet with the poo. But I don't do that, his poo just rolls off the fleece of his nappis and we just flush.
The old style cloth flats are a PITA. But modern cloth nappies are easy as. DH won't touch sposies lol
And with leaks, we never get any leaks with modern cloth, they are designed like a sposie so work really well. Never had a poo leak. Had the odd pee leak at night when we were experimenting on what would last through the night but you are likely to get that with sposies as well.
As for nappy rash, Daniel has never had bad nappy rash in cloth, but every time he goes into a sposie (usually when i am really sick I buy a bag) he always starts getting a little rash
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mummy_becks
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Posted: 02 October 2008 at 11:39am |
Dana when we come back to Palmy you can see Josh's cloths and see how so much like sposies they are if you like???
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I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived!
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nikkitheknitter
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Posted: 02 October 2008 at 12:25pm |
Emmecat wrote:
there is also a strong arguement for *how* one uses cloth to make it more eco friendly than disposables. If you use hot water washes and tumble dry then apparently the amount of energy used is no better than having disposables sitting in a dump!  Obviously if you cold wash and line dry you're doing a much better thing for the environment. there is also the issue of what material is used for cloth nappies as cotton is one of the most intensively sprayed materials used....so organic is better or bamboo or hemp etc. |
There are other things you can do to mitigate environmental effects of cloth naps too... using a biodegradable washing powder such as ecostore is much better for the environment. If you are going extreme you can recycle the grey water into things like your toilet to reduce water use. Or some people talk about putting it on garden but I'm not entirely sure the details on making sure it is safe to do that.
Line drying is good for your naps to get stains out and it kills bacteria etc so is always a good option if available  and alternatives to cotton are very readily available. And if you want to steer clear of synthetics altogether (most waterproof and staydry fabrics used in modern cloth are synthetic), it is relatively easy to do that now with the abundance of bamboo or hemp naps and wool covers - yay!
The least impact will always be eliminating nappy use altogether... so if you want to look in to elimination communication and even use it part time - that's a good option.
And for those looking to do eco stuff... then I seriously suggest checking out The Nappy Network and looking at the eco-friendly living section.
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Alianasmummy
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Posted: 02 October 2008 at 2:06pm |
Ive been a disposable mum for nearly 3 years but since being on this forum i am now nearly completely cloth (just waiting on some big nappies for the toddler)
I had never thought about it before, like you i thought that there was lots of gross poo and scrubbing but its actually not that bad. We havent had any leaks or poo smeared up the back like you get with disposables, even with Huggies.
I dont even like touching sposies now, they feel papery and uncomfortable compared to the suedecloth and microfibre!
I say go for it!
Check out the itti bitti D'lish range, theyl sway anyone over to the cloth side  
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Reezy
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Joined: 06 October 2008
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Posted: 13 October 2008 at 10:36pm |
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I like the idea of a cloth nappy but can you wash them in cold water???
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kebakat
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Posted: 14 October 2008 at 8:52am |
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yup I only wash in cold
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peanut butter
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Posted: 14 October 2008 at 9:34am |
cold water, no scrubbing cloth user here too. I must admit that I get frustrated when he has runnier poos that are sticky but they still roll off under the tap in the laundry. I have thought of getting a little tap and hose for the toilet. Its no harder to get poos off a cloth than a sposie.
It has become a habit, at the end of every day I throw his nappies through the wash and hang out the next morning. If it is going to rain, I sacrifice the heated towel rail (not eco I know) and dry them all on there. I hate using our drier. I would just hang them on the clothes rack but I have a little "helper" that pulls them all off and cuddles them...yuk!!!
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cuppatea
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Posted: 14 October 2008 at 3:10pm |
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We're in cloth and mostly use cloth wipes (am lazy and take wet wipes out with me). I wash on warm 40 degrees but our machine is super efficient and is a front loader so uses less water. We compost and recycle, I don't use chemicals to clean I use vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice and salt (combinations of, for different jobs). What cleaning products I do have are either ecostore or Bee. I want to go eco with beauty products as well so if any one knows of any reasonably priced shampoo and soap I would be interested.
I buy organic/natural sun lotions, face cream etc.
With our cloth nappies I find poos either just fall off the nappy and into the loo or I need to run them under the laundry tap. You aren't suppose to throw the poos in disposables into the bin anyway you are suppose to tip the contents down the toilet so i don't see the difference really. Plus they sometimes get crap everywhere so it's impossible not to deal with some poo, and believe me you quickly get over it.
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BeckyB
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Posted: 14 October 2008 at 4:16pm |
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Hi there, where do you get eco friendly liners that you can flush down the loo? what brand are they.
thanks
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cuppatea
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Posted: 14 October 2008 at 4:35pm |
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I don't bother to use liners as the poos just peel off the fleece anyway, but www.mothersinstinct.co.nz sell some liners that are flushable, I think they have organic ones as well.
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whitewave
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Posted: 14 October 2008 at 4:44pm |
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I was just looking at the Organic Baby website (see link above), and they sell them too.
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Eco-Mum
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