Get Real! Isn’t it about time that we cottoned on to real nappies?

Did you know that your child will get through more than 5,000 nappies in their first two years? Most parents are aware of the cost of disposable nappies to our environment, but shouldn’t we be looking for alternative solutions to help our environment rather then ruining it?

If the thoughts of cotton nappies fills you with mental images of gigantic, tricky nappy pins, rough terry towelling and countless hours of soaking and washing, it’s time to reconsider. While this might have been true for our mothers, modern ‘real’ nappies offer as much choice and convenience as disposables - and certainly more benefits. Gone are the squares of material and in are nappies that can now be bought already shaped. No more fiddling with pins either, as many now use Velcro, poppers to keep them in place.
Using real nappies means dealing with several different layers:
The nappy itself provides the absorbency and can be bought shaped or flat ready for you to fold
The liner (although not essential) is designed to catch the, ahem, solid bits
The wrap is waterproof outer to prevent clothes from getting wet
For extra protection at night, or for heavy wetters, you might like to use a booster to increase absorbency.

What’s in your baby’s disposable nappy?
Well, you’ll happily travel that extra mile to buy your baby the best organic bath products you can find, but then without a second thought place potentially harmful, potent chemicals next to his/her delicate skin.
So what nasties can be found and what is lurking in that nappy, other then the obvious?
TRIBUTYL TIN (TBT): TBT is included in some brands of disposables and is thought to disrupt sex hormones.
PBCs: Used in the manufacture of the plastic in nappies. PCBs are fat-soluble and pass quickly from water to living tissue. In studies concerning otters and mink these chemicals have caused disturbances of the neuoendocrine system, affecting puberty, ovulation reproduction function and foetal and neonatal survival.
CELLULOSE PULP: Every year seven million trees are felled in Canada and Scandinavia to provide cellulose pulp for disposable nappies sold in the UK alone.
POLYPROPYLENE: This is a type of plastic that is produced from carbon and hydrogen and is similar to polyethylene.

Health Hazard
One study from the University of Kiel in Germany found that disposable nappies maintain boys testicles at a higher temperature than cotton nappies, which could affect their fertility. With disposables, liquid is soaked up into the nappy to keep it from babies’ skin. With real nappies you’re aware when your child is wet because the nappy can’t absorb it in the same way, due to the absence of chemicals. When your child is ill, often one of the first warning signs is a reduction in wee production; so using real nappies helps you to keep alert to any changes. Many people will often tell you that real nappies will often cause a rash, but this simply isn’t true. Nappy rashes occur when the skin is in contact with urine, causing a chemical reaction with the ammonia.
As long as you change the baby whenever the nappy becomes soiled or wet, irritating nappy rashes can be avoided. In fact, disposables are sometimes left on for longer than what’s sensible, because they can hold more urine and for longer. Some pediatric experts have also conceded that real nappies can help to lower the incidence of hip dysplasia and other spinal injuries. There is also evidence that cotton nappies may help your child to potty train quicker. A child wearing a real nappy will know when he/she is wet and so can make the connection between a wet nappy and bladder release. This simple thought process is the first vital step in successful training and one that babies are likely to grasp much sooner.

Be Eco- Friendly
Landfill sites are becoming clogged with plastic raw sewerage, germs and chemicals as a result of disposable nappies. As yet, not enough is known to work out just how long it may take for some of this waste to be broken down and decompose - but estimates range as high several hundred years. While waste from hospitals, nurseries and play groups is incinerated (it’s classed as clinical waste), collection from domestic dustbins ends up at the tip. Viruses contained in discarded nappies can survive for up to two weeks and, in some cases, live polio vaccine has been identified at landfill sites where it has been passed out in urine. When you choose real nappies you are also empowering yourself to make further environmental decisions – it’s down to individuals whether they soak nappies, how often they wash them and whether they tumble dry or line dry them. With disposable nappies you lose this freedom and have little control over the environmental costs.

How they Work
The Bio liner is the inner moist layer, which collects all solid waste. The bioliner sits inside the cotton nappy, and the cotton nappy in turn sits inside the outer wrap which can be either cotton or polyester. No pins, just simple Velcro fastenings are necessary!

Easy to Wash
Flushable biodegradable liners mean no more rinsing in the toilet. Here’s how you do it! Flush poopy liners down the toilet, then soak nappies in a bucket with a solution. When you’re ready to wash simply dump the whole bucket of cotton nappies and sort into the washing machine, wash and rinse as necessary.