Why I chose to use cloth nappies

I have used cloth nappies (or reusable, or washable, or real nappies as are some of the other names for them!) since I had my eldest nearly seven years ago. Now I'll admit, I first tried them because they looked cute and because I was simply curious. Our local council offered incentives for trying them, so I had nothing to lose. But then I realised the difference that using reusable cloth nappies instead of disposable single-use nappies can make to our planet so that became my reason for sticking with them. That, and the fact that I simply love them!

Using cloth nappies instead of disposable nappies makes a huge difference, because single-use nappies just end up in landfill. Space on our planet is finite, we can't just continue throwing things away like we do, yet in the UK around 8 MILLION single use nappies are thrown away EVERY DAY according to Veolia. They then take hundreds of years to degrade, plus there is the impact of the manufacturing, transport and chemicals used to make them. Overall cloth nappies have less impact on the environment.

I have never managed to convince my husband to use cloth nappies, so we have always had both types of nappy here and I have used a mixture over the years. Even if you only used cloth at one nappy change a day and used disposables the rest of the time, that's still 365 nappies that will be saved from landfill each year, just from one child. Imagine the impact if everyone that was able to do this, did. I don't believe it has to be all or nothing with these things, and that we should never think that any change we make is too small. It all adds up and it all makes a difference.

We are now at the end of our journey with cloth nappies, as my youngest child is potty training. But if anything, using cloth nappies was actually the beginning of my journey to living a greener life. Becoming a parent has made me more aware of the impact I am having on the environment around me - because what's the point of having children if I don't do what I can to ensure they inherit the planet in the best state possible?

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