Climate Week: 5 things

you can do to help reduce the environmental impacts of nappies

Investigate Elimination Communication – fewer nappies is the most environmentally friendly option

Use cloth nappies – washing nappies can have up to 40% lower climate change impacts than disposables if you wash a full load, air dry and don’t boil or iron them. To find out more download Environment Agency Report of 2008 (PDF)

Look for the signs that your child wants to potty train – children can be clean at one year and dry by 18 months. Even if you use disposables this can reduce the impacts considerably.

Spread the word

Reach more people. Support Climate Week despite corporate green wash

Real Nappies at Nurseries

Nursery Certificate Scheme

One particular worry for parents when they consider using Real Nappies is whether they will be able to find a childcare setting that is comfortable using Real Nappies. This Real Nappy Week Go Real want to show that using Real Nappies is Real Easy at nursery too!

Go Real is launching a free certification scheme for nurseries and childcarers that support the use of Real Nappies. Participating nurseries will receive a certificate from Go Real so that they can show their parents that they are a certified, Real Nappy friendly nursery. They will also get a shout out on our Facebook page and a free listing on our Nappy Finder.

If you run a childcare setting which happily accepts Real Nappies or know someone who does please contact tara.jones@goreal.org.uk

Do babies really need nappies?

Have you heard of Natural Infant Hygiene otherwise known as EC, short for Elimination Communication? London mum, Rachel Richardson prefers the former term as it puts the emphasis on working with your baby's natural instinct to be clean and dry. For some people changing baby so frequently sounds like a nightmare but after I'd seen Rachel's presentation on NIH last week in Lewisham I just wished I'd known about it when my babies were born. To find out more you can download Rachel's factfile on NIH from the RNfL website.Real Nappies for London is going to see if Rachel can do more workshops over the next year in different parts of London. Perhaps it should be taught in ante-natal classes so everyone can have the knowledge!

If you just want to avoid soiled nappies this may interest you. The mum who told me about her experience has 4 children, two girls and two boys, now grown up. They pooed on a pot from birth. There was no issue with washing nappies at high temperature as they were only ever wet. The babies had no nappy rash and needed no creams. This mum was told that the child may regress later but this didn't happen with her children.

But how do you know when your baby is going to poo? This mum fed her babies every four hours. After each feed she held her baby over a pot. Baby is held like this with head resting on arm if necessary and the baby's back is massaged gently. If a poo comes it does, if it doesn't, it doesn't. Any other stories to share? Let's give parents the knowledge. It's up to you to work out whether it works for you and your baby or not.

For more info on natural infant hygiene visit tribal baby.

Money Saving Tips

Perhaps you are strapped for cash or maybe you just enjoy repairing and making things. If your bum genius need repairing there's help on that. I've come across people making their own nappies from old 100% cotton T-shirts. There are also people who hand knit nappy soakers. Do you know you can make soakers from old sweaters? There are even patterns for making a Maya baby sling.

Please let us know what you've found, made, repaired.

WANTED: Nearly New Real Nappies

Do you have nappies your child no longer wears that could be used by someone else? It is European Week for Waste Reduction and we are calling on people to put real nappies in good condition back into service.

Please visit the Real Nappies for London Exchange page to find out where you can sell your nappies. Alternatively you may be able to take them along to a local NCT nearly new sale or one of the Bring and Take events that are happening all over London this week. Please see our events diary to find the ones specifically for maternity and baby items.

If you are looking to snap up some nearly new nappies go along to an event and see what you can find. If the nappies look a bit stiff they could be in great condition. They may just need to have the detergent residue removed. For more details visit our page on washing.

And MANY THANKS!

We’re not anti- disposables, we are simply pro-choice

What I’ve discovered during my years of campaigning around alternatives to disposable nappies is that there are a lot of influential people out there; MPs, councillors, health professionals, journalists who used disposables on their babies. Some now think reusables are better but are scared to go public on the issue for fear of being branded as hypocrites. Others genuinely believe disposable nappies liberated women and continue to promote them with the best intentions.

If you give the issue of disposable nappy waste serious attention for even a limited amount of time it’s very difficult to believe disposable nappies are a good idea. I’m not saying that real nappies are right for everyone. What I am saying is that we should have open competitive fair markets so people can choose which nappy system is right for them and their babies. At the moment we don’t. Not only do disposable nappies enjoy a high profile through the Bounty Pack given out by midwives at the first scan, mass advertising on TV, what looks like an unlimited budget for web advertising and a high level of space on supermarket shelves but also the influential parenting charity the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) is sponsored by Pampers.

Even if you buy the ‘there’s no difference between the impacts of washing and disposables’ argument (despite Defra’s 2008 report that said real nappies can have up to 40% lower impacts than disposables depending on how you wash them) just consider the growth model of the disposable nappy industry. The birth rate in Europe is currently stable if not falling and so the only way to ensure growth is to keep inventing new disposable products and keep children in nappies for longer. The whole ethos of the real nappy industry by comparison is to get children out of nappies as soon as they are ready. This is something I’ve addressed in numerous posts. For more see ‘An Inconvenient Nappy’.

Another group of people who block real nappies are those who had babies in the ‘70s and remember leaking terry towelling nappies and badly fitting plastic pants, boiling nappies on the stove and using heavy duty chemicals to sterilise them. For them disposables liberated them. Unfortunately for the real nappy industry - and local authorities that need to reduce waste sent to landfill urgently - these people don’t seem to realise that real nappies have evolved. Saying real nappies are a step backwards is like saying you won’t use a mobile phone because it’s the size of a brick. I don’t expect to turn these people into advocates of real nappies I just wish we could stop them being blockers. All ideas welcome.

Is it safe to wash nappies at low temperatures?

There was a piece about the health risks that may arise from washing clothes and bedding at low temperatures in the Daily Mail. It received lots of comments and is very interesting so do take a look.

At RNfL we are keen to hear about your experience of washing nappies at less than 60c. Have you found the balance between washing with low environmental impacts and ensuring there is no risk of the spread of bugs?

Our understanding is that most bacteria and fungi are destroyed at 60c It is only necessary to wash at temperatures over 70c if baby has an infection or the nappies are used by more than one baby eg a nappy laundry service, nursery or hospital. We also understand that as long as a baby/toddler does not chew a nappy washing nappies at 40c is quite safe for healthy babies.

Over the last decade or so there has been an increasing awareness that to develop healthy immune systems we should expose our families to a certain level of micro-organisms and not live in a completely sterile environment. The rise of MRSA and other Superbugs, both in hospitals and in the community has taught us this.

But what is your experience? What works for you? Let's share scientific knowledge but also what you know from direct experience. Lets try to establish how to manage health and low impact living.

Partnerships to prevent as much nappy waste as we can

Last week Real Nappies for London attended an inspiring partnership roundtable discussion at St Thomas’ Hospital where Sustainability Managers from London Hospitals shared ideas with Local Authority Sustainability managers.

On the ‘Waste’ table the need to find an alternative to the incineration and landfill of nappy waste was seen as a high priority. The recycling of this waste is still some years away in London and a very expensive option so everyone was very keen to hear about Real Nappies for London and what we are doing to reduce London’s disposable nappy waste, especially as this something that is already happening and needs no additional infrastructure.

It doesn't have to be all or nothing

You know real nappy users have a secret. They like to keep it quiet but I’m going to share it with you. Most real nappy users also use disposables some of the time. In fact many real nappy users use a disposable at night. Typically around 6 months when babies are about to be weaned and they are on a liquid diet. They tend to drink a lot and that means they pee a lot. So real nappy users, not being quite the martyrs they’re supposed to be use a disposable because cloth just isn’t up to the job. Some will get through this with extra cloth and bamboo boosters but I can reveal, from extensive research that many do use disposables at night during this phase.

Also, many real nappy users will put a disposable on their baby when they are out and about-especially when they know it’s not going to be easy finding somewhere to change their baby. It’s true. So don’t be put off using real nappies because you think it’s all or nothing. Parenting is tough sometimes, well a lot of the time actually and you know what’s right for you and when. No one is judging you, or if they are they’re not worth worrying about.

Do what feels good for you and your baby. And if the time is right turn away from this screen and go look at your baby: smile, kiss, laugh, hug, sing, wink, flirt, blow raspberries and just get high on your beautiful baby. And if this sounds nuts and you don’t have these feelings - a lot of the time - then please go and speak to your GP or health visitor urgently. This is a special time and you should be enjoying your baby and if you’re not then there is help out there, there's no need to be ashamed, but you need to tell someone.

You may also like this post: Remember the Waste Hierarchy

Weekly bin collections back again – hurrah!

That should boost the economy. Good old Eric Pickles finding £250 million. This is urgent. We’ve got to get the nation shopping again and how can they shop with confidence and energy when they’ve got no way of throwing away rubbish once a week?

I'm pleased to see a sense of urgency about this. If people get out of the habit of shopping they may realise they prefer going to the park, going for a cycle ride or taking a stroll along the canal. That’s awful because then they’re not spending money and GDP won’t grow and we’ll never get out of recession. Hurrah for weekly bin collections.