Environment Benefits of Using Cloth Nappies Over Disposables

Cloth nappies are not only good for your baby. They are also very friendly to the environment. Using cloth nappies does not only protect your children, but you are also protecting the environment that will nurture the next generation.

The environmental impact of cloth nappies is considerably lesser than disposables. In fact, most preliminary studies on the use of cloth nappies validate the common knowledge that it can really bring more benefits for the environment.

Disposable nappies are non-biodegradable. They can exist for more that five hundred years without decomposing. Disposables are one of the hazardous materials that are dumped on land fills throughout the world. And because disposable nappies are non-biodegradable, those than have been used the past several decades are still wreaking havoc on the environment.

Cloth nappies on the other hand can be re-used over and over. Some traditional families actually pass children’s clothing, including nappies, to the next generation of children in their household.

Because cloth nappies can be re-used, they can lessen the amount of valuable natural resources needed for their production. In comparison, disposable nappies consume non-renewable and renewable resources at an ever increasing rate due to faster mass production.

In producing one disposable nappy, manufacturers would have to consume one large cup of crude oil for its machineries. In fact, the overall production of disposables worldwide will need four times the energy requirement in producing cloth nappies.

The water needed for producing disposable nappies on the other hand is two times greater than the amount needed for washing modern cloth nappies. With the acceleration of global warming resulting to scarcity of water, this fact alone points out why cloth nappies considerably help environment preservation.

Global natural resources can be affected by nappies. Disposables use eight times more non-renewable resources for its production compared to cloth nappies. Renewable resources however have been devastated by disposable nappies as factories need ninety percent more than those required for the production of cloth nappies.

Some sectors contend that the environmental benefits of cloth nappies are not conclusive. There are also arguments that the after-production environmental impact of nappies made from cloth is actually bigger.

It is true that cloth-based nappies need constant rewashing. Because of this, the soap suds, water, and drying requirements of cloth nappies will certainly have some impact on the environment.

However, modern cloth technologies have been introduced reducing the soap requirements for nappy washing. Modern cloth nappies today can be washed easily without the need for too much soap powder, bleach, or other chemical pollutants.

Families are also advised to schedule their wash day twice a week instead of washing the nappies everyday. Modern solar energy equipments can also help in drying cloth nappies. They can simply be air dried under the sun which is more hygienic as bacteria can be eliminated by intense sunlight.

Indeed, cloth nappies have more benefits for the environment than disposables. You can do your part by using cloth nappies. Your baby then can become a champion of mother earth.