Why reusable diapers
Cloth diapers/reusable nappies have come a long way. They are trendy, eco-friendly, cheap and not at all the (dirty) work that people expect. More and more people nowadays choose reusable diapers over disposable diapers . You can read below about the most important advantages or watch our reusable diapers video on YouTube.
7 benefits of Cloth Diapers
1. Eco-friendly
Doing better for the environment is one of the first reasons to use reusable diapers that comes to mind and not surprisingly so. Disposable diapers create 1000 kg of waste per child, whereas reusable diapers hardly generate any waste at all. Partly because of this, reusable diapers (production as well as washing) generate 1.5 to 2.5 times less CO2 than disposable diapers . Also, reusable diapers need 7 times less land for the raw materials than disposables. Moreover, for the production of disposable diapers, every child uses 6 trees and 67 liters of crude oil for the production of plastic in the diapers.
2. Skin-friendly
A second important advantage to reusable nappies is the effect on your baby’s bottom. Children who wear cloth diapers tend to experience less diaper rashes. Firstly, because disposables consist of 15% to 30% plastic and use a super absorber. These granules change into a gel when they get moist and are often so absorbent that they dry out your baby’s skin, which makes it more prone to infections. Also, the chemicals in disposables can cause irritated skin. Cloth diapers are made of absorbent materials like bamboo, cotton, hemp or microfiber. These materials can absorb a lot of liquid, but they will start to feel damp at some point. This means that a baby wearing a cloth diaper will sooner feel wetness to the skin than a child in disposables, but this generally has no effect on the bottom’s skin. Partly because reusable nappies do not dry out the skin, the skin remains better balanced, despite the wetness.
3. Smaller chance of blow-outs
Reusable diapers have elastic at the back and around the legs, which makes them fit better than disposables. This makes the chance of blow-outs much smaller than in disposables. It prevents a bunch of horrifying changes!
4. Good for hip development
Reusable diapers are broader between the legs than disposable diapers. Although some parents dislike the look of it and are scared that it harms their child’s development, the contrary is actually true. The broad reusable diapers push the baby’s leg into a gentle frog leg (or ‘M’) position. This pushes the femoral head well into the hip socket, which creates the best chance for hips to develop well. Moreover, children have been in their mother’s belly for nine months this way. So for them, it feels very familiar! The broad position of the hips does not influence motor development negatively either. Children who wear cloth diapers also start rolling, crawling and walking and are generally not slower in doing so than their peers in disposables.
5. Potty trained sooner
Children in reusable diapers feel wetness to their skin soon after they pee or poop, which makes them more aware of the process. This brings down the average age of potty trained children by a year. Good for your child, for yourself and of course it means less disposables. Even though reusable diapers costs a little more time because of the washing, you can win that time back when they are toddlers.
6. Saving money
Long term, reusable nappies are cheaper than disposable nappies. Even counting in washing costs and if you purchase more expensive diapers. On average, you will save €480 for one child. You can even save up to €1450 if you purchase the cloth diapers as cheaply as possible (Source: Milieucentraal). If you will use the diapers for more than one child, you will continue to save money. However, the initial costs of reusable nappies can be high. By buying the more affordable brands, you can reduce these costs. You could also ask family and friends for diapers or a voucher for the birth of your child.
7. Last but not least
Reusable diapers are simply great fun! They come in all sorts of colors and prints and they look so cute. A clothes line full of colored diapers blowing in the wind, who does not get cheered up by that?