All the clothes that I sell in the SonesUK shop are designed with cloth bottomed babies in mind to give plenty of room for the slight additional bulk. This set me thinking about the pro’s and cons of using cloth nappies. When my children were tiny there was really not a choice but now there is a vast range of disposables and cloth nappies to choose from.
First of all a good place to start might be some facts and figures produced by local councils.
Every year we need a forest the size of Wales to provide all the paper we use in
Britain.
1 tonne of recycled paper saves 17 trees from being cut down.
7 Million Trees are cut down each year just to make disposable nappies.
If you use disposable nappies your child will use an average of 5,000 from birth until potty trained.
Not so many years ago a cloth nappy was simply a square of towelling which was fastened onto baby using two lethal looking large safety pins. Now the range available is astonishing you can have a one piece nappy, a shaped two piece, pre-folded, terry, a flat nappy used with a stuffable style cover, waterproof covers, liners, booster pads and swim nappies. The large pins have been replaced by snappi nappi clips and nippi nippas and I am sure there are many more. Modern cloth nappies then fit really snuggly. It is argued that children wearing cloth nappies become potty trained more quickly because the child is able to detect some wetness. This awareness encourages the child to use a potty.
Some of reasons for using disposables might be convenience, not having the bother of washing or perhaps your child goes to day nursery. It is also suggested by manufacturers that disposables prevent nappy rash. I would argue that there is no reason for a child in a cloth nappy to have a higher incidence of nappy rash. A child’s skin is very sensitive and nappies need to be changed frequently to avoid prolonged contact with wee and poo which are the cause of nappy rash. Avoid using biological washing powders apart from the fact that they are not eco-friendly they can cause rashes. Or perhaps you might consider a nappy laundry service which may not be as expensive as you would think.
Many childcare providers will be happy to accommodate children in cloth nappies providing you have chosen an easy and reliable type, and provide a sealable bag for storage of dirty nappies. If all this still sounds like a lot of extra work, perhaps a compromise would be helpful just consider; using only one cloth nappy per day will save 365 disposable nappies being thrown away. So from little oak trees etc. etc.
Just two more factors to consider
In the next 10 years about 800 million people will be added to the global population.
As the population consumption and wealth increases so does the amount of waste we produce.
We have used more goods and services since 1950 than in the rest of human history.
Well I hope this gives you some food for thought and you may even decide to swap to cloth nappies.
Information obtained from: The Complete Cloth Nappy Guide & Colchester Borough Council
How do you like to dress your child? Do you want him or her to look like a miniature adult or to be a child as long as possible? From my own observations there does seem to be a need in some people to dress children like mini adults which I feel is a pity. I would argue that these years are very precious and from my own experience as a mother I can tell you they pass all too quickly. I would be really interested to hear your viewpoint on this question. One thing which I am sure we will agree upon is that children’s clothes need to be versatile and give value for money.
There are some great clothes available now in organic cotton which is soft and cosy for your child because the cotton fibres are intact and not broken by the chemicals and machines used in conventional cotton farming and production of textiles. An important point to consider is that organic cotton is less likely to trigger allergies because there are no harmful chemicals used either in growing the cotton or in finishing the material. Organic cotton has maximum breathability because it does not contain anti shrink resins. But don’t worry all clothes sold on the website are sized to allow for shrinkage, but having said that it’s not a good idea to “cook” them in the tumble dryer but they are fine dried on a low heat. As ever I would recommend using an environmentally friendly washing powder like Ecover which has the additional benefit of being kinder to tender baby skin, but perhaps that’s just me on my hobby horse! Although colours and patterns are funky they are produced without toxic dyes and fasteners are nickel free. So again less likelihood of allergic reactions.
Clever designs which are produced with thought and care can make a lot of difference to your child’s comfort and that is really important for little ones. They can’t tell you when the material is harsh and rubbing or waistbands are constricting and pinching. But all this care and attention to detail does not mean that clothes need be boring and unattractive. Visit us at Sonesuk to see some of the lovely outfits we have on sale from dungarees to tee shirts. The new autumn range which will be arriving soon has even more clothes which are reversible; so not only have you two different tops in one garment, but on those occasions that seem to happen all too often with kids when you leave home with a clean top and arrive to find there has been an accident with an ice-cream or similar, no problem just turn it inside out. (This used to happen to me all too often on the way to the baby clinic!) Another clever idea is rollups on trousers and dungarees with contrasting patterns which can change the whole look. You might say more looks for less money. As the clothes are made with best quality organic cotton they will wear well and pass down to little brothers and sisters. So style for little ones is achieved without sacrificing that all important comfort factor and moreover they look like the small children they are.
With only just over 3 weeks until the schools go back, it’s time to start thinking about stocking up on essential “Back to School” supplies and uniform for the start of the next school year. Green school supplies and uniforms are starting to make it into the mainstream, so with a little bit of forward planning, there’s no reason why you can’t choose the greener options.
Uniform
Marks & Spencer have a Fairtrade range of white school shirts and polo shirts for boys and girls. They are reasonably priced and available in larger stores and online. They have also announced a new range of uniform basics made of recycled plastic bottles.
Spirit of Nature stock a range of Fairtrade and organic cotton school uniforms for younger children (up to 8yrs).
Clean Slate is an independent Fairtrade and organic cotton school uniform supplier. Clean Slate work with schools to supply Fairtrade and organic embroidered uniform, and encourages co-operative buying clubs to reduce prices.
If your school has a second hand uniform shop you may be interested to know that buying second hand is as eco-friendly as you can get when it comes to school uniform. If it doesn’t, have a look at Uniform2 to see whether any parents from your school have used school uniform available for sale.
School bags
For the littler ones, ECOutlet do a very sweet recycled children’s backpack. The backpacks are produced and traded according to fair trade principles by a women’s co-operative in The Philippines, made of unbiodegradable foil juice packaging.
For those with more books and homework, Natural Collection have a range of amazing adult sized backpacks made of recycled plastic bottles. The bags are water repellent, perfect for walking home from school.
Lunch bags & containers
The Ethical Superstore sells a lunch bag made of recycled juice packs. With a wipe-clean lining and strong handles. It was Voted Lunch Box BEST BUY by the Independent newspaper.
Laptop Lunches Bento Lunchboxes are a great way of reducing the packaging needed for packed lunches, and make it easy to include healthy options.
Open a second hand uniform shop - parents can donate outgrown uniform to the school, who can sell it to other parents who would rather buy second hand. Good for the environment, and good for parents’ pockets.
Collect mobile phones and printer cartridges - raise money by collecting mobile phones and printer cartridges to be recycled with Recycool.
Collect second hand clothes and shoes - Recycling Champions will collect clothes, textiles and shoes from your school and pay you for them.
Sell wheelie bin stickers with a recycling message - Wheelie Bin Art do some very cool stickers for wheelie bins, and pay your school for each sticker sold.
