#startwithonenappy - The Impact of One Cloth Nappy a Day

#startwithonenappy is an educational campaign to help parents who are new to cloth nappies understand the impact that just one reusable nappy can have. Through this campaign we strive to equip parents with the information and resources they need to make a gentle, manageable and highly rewarding shift to reusable alternatives.

Has anyone ever suggested the idea of switching to just one cloth nappy a day? Perhaps you’ve been using disposables since the birth of your baby and want to give cloth a shot but are worried about diving in the deep end? Maybe you even started out with cloth but became overwhelmed by it.

Let me suggest starting with one.

Just one nappy change a day can and does make a difference.

It is a lot easier than you might expect and it most definitely does have an impact. It might even get you keen on using 2 or 3 cloth nappies a day!

Let’s see just how much of a difference 1 cloth nappy a day can make…

SAVES MONEY

1 nappy a day, at 40 cents each over the course a year will save $146. That’s a week’s worth of groceries for some families.

Now, let’s assume you’re using a very simple DIY budget nappy version (like one of THESE). The nappy literally hasn’t cost you anything and it’s not costing you much extra to launder – a few dollars for the water that you use to hand rinse each day for a year (more on washing next week).

But even if you’ve invested in a good quality $36 modern cloth nappy, your savings are still significant. $110 is a family season pass to the pool, a few birthday presents or a tank of fuel.

SAVES LANDFILL

Unlike many small European countries, we don’t have to worry too much about sending our rubbish “away”. It will be a long time before we fill all of that land up with our rubbish.

But just because we have the land to fill, doesn’t mean we should.

A 240 litre garbage bin will hold just over 300 used disposable nappies. So in a year of using just one cloth nappy a day, a household will save the equivalent of just over one full garbage bin of rubbish.

Still doesn’t seem like a big deal? What if 10 families in your neighbourhood did this? 100 families in your town? 1000 in your state? It all adds up.

Want to give it a shot? Grab an old t-shirt or some hand towels and watch this video.

Next week we’ll take a look at how best to wash reusable nappies when you’re only using one a day, or if you’re using more than one a day, but still not enough for a full load every 2-3 days.