Cloth diapers - you’ll never stick with them!

If I had a penny for every person who acted like my cloth diaper intentions were naive… well actually I’d probably only have about 6 or 7 pence… but nevertheless!

When I was first pregnant and discussing my plans to cloth diaper with friends and family I got a fair amount of gentle sneering and “We’ll just wait and see” attitude. Which in hindsight I’m very appreciative of, for all you need to guarantee success in some people is to show a little doubt and subtle condescension.

Without knowing anybody else who used cloth diapers (or ‘nappies’ as we call them in England) I was very much on my own to figure out my way around all the lingo, brands, systems and styles available. And believe me, there’s A LOT!

Trying to figure out the difference between ‘one size’ and ‘size one’ and ‘all in one’ was bad enough, but without getting my hands on any examples it was really difficult to make any decisions about which brand to invest in. And cloth diapers are not cheap, so that’s definitely not a decision you want to get wrong.

So I turned to eBay! The second hand cloth diaper market is surprisingly flourishing, and with some careful research I was able to purchase a wide array of diapers to sample and try out on my baby.

So now I’m 3 years down the line, thousands of cloth diaper changes later, and I’m still a huge advocate for cloth! So much so that I work with cloth diaper companies around the world to give parents a crash course on all things cloth to help them figure out the right brand and system that works for them without wasting time and money in the wrong places.

Since even eco-friendly disposable diapers don’t biodegrade, 3.3 million tonnes head to landfill every year in the US alone, and with a minimal projection of at least 500 years to decompose, that means that if Pampers was old enough, we’d still be sitting on the disposable diapers of Michelangelo and William Shakespeare. It’s a big problem.

So far I have saved over 10,000 diapers going into landfill on just my own two babies alone. The diapers I bought second hand continue to work brilliantly for both my current babies and I have every intention of using them on my third and fourth whenever they arrive.

And yes, you can throw details about washing powder and water usage at me, but honestly, if anybody actually believed in that argument, we’d all be wearing disposable underwear and clothing and saying it “uses less water”. The fact is, the production of disposable diapers uses 230% more water than the manufacturing, use and washing of cloth diapers.

So if you’re thinking of turning to cloth, all I can say is go for it! Once you get into your groove it’s easier than you’d imagine, ignore the people who say you won’t stick with it, and feel good knowing you are reducing your environmental impact one wet diaper at a time!

And click below to let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you on your cloth diaper journey!