Cloth nappies and the environment

One of the questions that comes up again and again is about cloth nappies and the environment. How much better are they for the environment? Are disposable alternatives really that much worse? Does it matter what kind of nappies you use? There have been many, many studies done on this subject, one in particular suggested that there was little difference between the two types of nappies in terms of environmental impact. So, what is the truth? Are cloth nappies really the better choice?

Cloth nappies and the environment

Before we look at cloth nappies and the environment in more detail, it is worth mentioning that of course everything we do has an impact on the environment. It’s easy to convince ourselves that going for the ‘green’ option means that there isn’t an environmental impact. Making cloth nappies in the first place, of course uses resources, then there is the washing and drying of them, all of which is going to have an effect. We usually use chemicals, water, and energy to get our nappies clean. To pretend that this didn’t have some kind of effect of the environment would be foolish. Disposable nappy companies are usually quick to point this out; look, cloth isn’t all good, it uses precious resources too. Of course this is true of almost everything that we do in our day to day lives though. We need to try and make an effort to make this impact as minimal as possible though.

Similar environmental effects

There were two studies done in the UK in 2005 and 2008 which are often mentioned when people talk about cloth nappies and the environment, or compare cloth nappies to disposable nappies. Often it is claimed that these studies showed that there was little difference in the impact of these two nappy types, in terms of the environment. In actual fact, if you read the studies, this isn’t actually what they say. They found that there was some overlap in environmental impact between the lowest impact disposable nappies and the highest impact washable nappies. The second study based it’s findings on predictions for disposable nappies, looking at how they ‘might’ become better for the environment, and still did not look at low impact washable nappies. If you would like to read more about the studies and why they don’t actually say what some people claim that they do, you can find more out here.

Making the ‘green’ choice

If you’re interested in cloth nappies and the environment and want to ensure that you are taking steps to ensure that you are being ‘green’ with your nappy choices, then you might want to know how you can be sure that your cloth nappies are lower impact. The great thing about cloth nappies, is that much of it is in your hands. There is little that you can do to make disposable nappies better for the environment. On the other hand, as you are in charge of laundering your nappies (which is what has the biggest impact in terms of the environment) then you can make sure that you are doing the best for the environment. Using the wind and sun to dry your nappies as often as you can, keeping chemicals to a minimum, washing full loads, and reusing cloth nappies on more than one child all means that your cloth nappies have the lowest impact possible in terms of the environment.

It’s hard to get a definitive answer in terms of the impact that cloth nappies have on the environment, as there are so many factors that can come into play. For the most part though, almost all cloth nappy use will be ‘greener’ than using disposable nappies. You can also play a huge role in reducing the amount of energy and resources that are used to clean your cloth nappies, and ensure that when it comes to cloth nappies and the environment, you really have made the ‘green’ choice.

You can find more information on cloth nappies and the environment here, here, and here.