Not only does the global disposable nappy industry extract over 248 million barrels of crude oil annually, but it also creates over 38 million tonnes of solid waste per year.
Did you know that disposable nappies will take roughly 500 years to fully decompose because of the plastic outer shell? Disposable nappies represent a massive 3% of all solid waste thrown into landfills, and they use 20 times more raw materials than natural nappy alternatives.
An estimated 400,000 disposable nappies are thrown into landfills worldwide every minute. Imagine the wreckage we are leaving behind for our future children with disposable nappies that will take roughly 500 years each to decompose. Moreover, many of the chemicals used in disposable nappies will recirculate through the earth.
At The Nappy Den, we appreciate that reusable nappies need to be washed and dried, which has an impact on the environment, so be mindful to wash at lower temperatures and line dry to help reduce your carbon footprint.
Your baby’s health and development
If you know what goes into a newborn, you can make an informed decision about how it will affect your child.
Traditional disposable nappies use plastic in their construction, which contains phthalates. Phthalates can be found in food packaging and detergents. These harsh chemicals can cause irritation to your baby’s skin. A large number of disposable diaper brands continue to use fragrances in their products, which can potentially cause skin irritation. Fragrances are one of the prime culprits for causing eczema and other allergies, and they are also a significant contributor to the dreaded nappy rash.
It is also thought that toddlers wearing disposable nappies are harder to potty train as they can’t feel when their nappy is wet.
Small steps to make a change
Let’s face it: whether you’re a parent or soon-to-be parent, we can all acknowledge that parenthood comes with many surprises and pressures. It simply isn’t the case that you need to choose between disposable and reusable nappies; you can use both and make a huge impact both on the environment and financially. The arrival of a new baby can be very challenging for many reasons, and we can never fully prepare for our own individual journey.
If you are unsure of how reusable nappies would work for you and your family, we would recommend trying them on a day when you and your baby don’t have to leave the house. This gives you time to practice using and changing the reusable nappies in your own time and space without external pressures. We are confident you will be comfortable with its capabilities and ease of use in no time!
So let’s say you swapped out two disposable nappies a day for our reusable nappies. That would save you 14 disposable nappies a week, and over time (say, two and a half years, the average potty training age), that would subsequently save you 1,820 disposable nappies.
Not only is that 1820 disposable nappies that aren’t thrown in landfills, that’s an extra £455 (based on the market-leading nappy brand) in your pocket. That is just swapping two nappies a day, so think of the impact you could make on your wallet and waste by switching to two reusable nappies a day.
At The Nappy Den, we are firm believers in the saying “it doesn’t have to be all or nothing”, and that is simply because we truly agree with this statement. It definitely doesn’t have to be all or nothing; if every baby in the UK used a few reusables a week, we could contribute to reducing our household waste, which would then reduce our landfill, which would reduce the single-use nappies contribution to global warming through their carbon dioxide emissions.
