Best eco friendly disposable nappies?

[AlexNe]

HI everyone. Can anyone please recommend some good eco-friendly disposable nappies? We've toyed with the idea of reusable for a while, but I am not sure I would be able to cope with them, and really conscious about the nappies going in the landfill ... Any brands tested for newborns?

Just bumping this as I'd love to know too! A company called Kit and Kin was advertised on my instagram this morning, but it's difficult to know what will work to be both eco friendly and reasonable value.

www.motherandbaby.co.uk/shopping-and-reviews/shopping-ideas/shopping-for-baby-essentials/environmentally-friendly-baby-products

They don’t come cheap!

I really like Kit & kin nappies, they are more expensive but they are good (v few leaks) and I don't mind paying a bit more to be slightly more eco friendly. The problem I've found is that they are hard to come by if you don't order online. Boots seem to sometimes stock them, but not reliably.

Naty nappies I have found to be not much better than an origami serviette. Their baby wipes however are very good. Sainsbury's sometimes stock them, again availability isn't that reliable.

I should get my act together and order a load of both online.

Where are you disposing of them? Worth thinking about.

We used disposable for DD1 cos, exactly same as you, felt that reusables would be too much to cope with. Always felt a bit bad about how full our bin was at end of the week so with DC2 I bought a pack or Naty nappies and a few reusables. The idea being I’d give reusables a go but also have the biodegradable nappies for if it was too much hassle. 7 weeks in and I’ve ended up buying more reusables and still have half a pack or Natys left... reusables weren’t nearly as stressful as I thought: maybe you should give them a try. Sometimes he’s in disposables for a couple of days cos I’ve got behind on washing and I use disposables at night so he can be dryer for longer (Naty was useless for this— reverted to pampers) but even doing that our bins are a lot emptier than with DD1....
I think I was put off reusables because o felt it’d be all or nothing but if you do a ‘relaxed’ version it’s very manageable and still eco friendly

We use Bambo nappies bought online. Have tried l the brands and mostly found them pretty similar, but Naty were the poorest performing.

The only ones that are in any way biodegradable are Beaming Baby. The others are just made with more ecologically sound materials.

pipanchew2 Do you mind saying what reusables you got, and what the routine is like for using and cleaning them?

Don't waste your money on eco friendly ones. When you throw them in the bin, they are sent to landfill where the conditions are such that it is impossible for them to decompose. As a result, they stay there alongside all other disposable nappies. If you are composting them then sure, they are better for the environment but unless you live on a farm (or have equivalent amount of land), it is impossible for you to compost the amount of nappies a baby will get through.

If you can, go down the reusable route for environment - even if you use cloth part time or just at home, it is a million times better (and cheaper) than eco disposable nappies.

Lots of great info here (scroll down)

www.thenappylady.co.uk/news/

We do a 'relaxed' version of reusables. I've got a variety of brands and it's worth seeing what works best for your child (we found it differed between DD and DS). Current favourites are Bambino Mio and Smartipants. Generally we only use disposables at night or on long days out. Tend to get through 4-5 a day once the newborn stage is over. For wees I just put them in a dry lidded bucket. For poos I use a fleece liner- theoretically the poo should tip off. I find with DS however that they may need a bit more attention- usually running them under the flow of the toilet flush. A week's worth of nappies is one full load- I either save them all for one 60 degree load at the weekend, or add them to the general wash throughout the week. Dry them on IKEA sock dryer in the kitchen (less than 24 hours) and 5-10 minutes to stuff them again. For full time use I reckon you need 25-30 for once a week washing (less if you wash more often).

It really doesn't have to be all or nothing- 1 nappy a day is 365 not going to landfill. And with modern styles it really is very easy- nursery happily use them for us. IMO biodegradable nappies aren't worth it- in landfill conditions they don't degrade much better than normal nappies, but cost you a lot more.

As pp have said it does come down to how to dispose of them and I just wasn't satisfied that any of them were genuinely biodegradable under the conditions I could supply. Washables are great and so much easier than people think and they're cheaper even than bog standard disposables.

How does it work? Basically put on nappy as usual, change after 4 hours. Poo gets dropped down the loo (you're meant to do this with disposables too) with the help of a liner. Then the nappy goes into a dry,lidded bucket lined with a mesh laundry bag. When out I used a waterproof dry bag. Every other day pull out the bag and stick into the washing machine - I washed at 40 with sanitiser and hung on a clip-frame to dry in the airing cupboard. Once dry there may be a bit of sorting to do (we used pocket types which you have to stuff with reusable liners) but it's quick work. Then fit as normal -they come in some great patterns. Most nappies are birth to potty and adjust size with poppers - they can be a bit big on smaller newborns but you can get size 1 very cheaply second hand which are perfect for smaller bottoms.

There's no need to be purist - I often stuck a few disposables in the nappy bag just in case we ran out. The nappy lady is great and you may have a local nappy library who can lend you a starter kit.

I really like Mum & You nappies, they are so soft, my son hasn't had any nappy rash at all and they (almost) hope everything in.
I'm also trying reusables - Bambino Mio - but they just leak every time and we're weaning... Can't face new food poo in them

If you want to try them use this link and you'll get £10 off...

mumandyou.com/invitationsrewards/invite/index/email/Y2FtbGV0dEBnbWFpbC5jb20=/name/U2FyYWg=/medium/whatsapp

Came on to say exactly what @riddles26 said about landfill.

There is one advantage to "eco" disposables and that is no nasty chemicals (or so they say, I haven't fully researched) so you won't be putting dioxin etc next to baby's skin to be absorbed.

Please give reusables a go. As everyone has said, it's not as difficult as you may think and it doesn't have to be all or nothing. It breaks my heart that so few people even consider them! I'm glad you are giving this some thought.

If you are keen, there is also EC or pottying from birth. Can also do this part time and will save on nappies.

We are using a few different ones. I decided to go for the ones that are birth to potty to get most use and as I tend to have babies with chunky legs so they fitted ok from about 2weeks - skinny babies might be a bit older before they’ll fit.
I also decided to go for all in ones as I want DH to use them too so needs to be simple!
I bought totsbots easy fit, miosolos and little bloomz. So far they all seem fine but he’s still quite little so the cheaper ones (little bloomz) are yet to be really put to the test.

I’ve now got about 15 which is a full wash load. I wash them on a 60 degree cycle and hang to dry. At the mo they dry in a day cos of the heat but previously it’s take maybe a couple of days so if I run out I’d put him in disposables till they were ready....

So can you put biodegradable ones in the compost bin? If the landfill is no good?

@Esto I think it depends on the nappy, but unless you have lots of land, I don't think it would be at all feasible to compost nappies at home. It would take too long and you'd have way too many. Imagine putting nappies in one of those black compost containers. It's laughable!

Glad I’ve seen this as I’ve been looking at them too. I’m due in eight weeks and still need the flexibility of disposable, as when I return to work I travel quite a bit and just need the easiest option. I felt this was a compromise to try and hoped that I could put it all in the food waste bin (I’ll check with the council about what they can take).

I bought a small pack of Naty nappies at the weekend to try and the nappy bags. I’ve also bought a few single packs of biodegradable wet wipes to try in advance: Jackson Reece unscented; Cheeky Panda and Aqua Wipes.

I have only tried the Jackson Reece ones and Cheeky Panda. Cheeky Panda are great. Just like normal wipes and quite wet - great for taking off make up! However l found Jackson Reece, whilst unscented there was still a bit of a herbal smell which I disliked and they were drier too.

I’m going to have a read of the nappy lady sure someone posted a link to.

@daphine2004 I really like the aqua wipes, very gentle and I don't find them too wet

We use a mixture of reusable cloth nappies and nappies from Kit and Kin which have been very good and much more absorbent than Pampers etc

We also used cloth nappies and reusable cheeky wipes instead of wet wipes. My baby is now a year old and I’ve went back to disposable nappies as I was having to boost them so much to not leak and they were so bulky under her clothes. But I’m reassured that I at least saved 8 months worth of disposables going to landfill. The reusable wipes have been a godsend though, I can’t recommend them highly enough. The cheeky wipe system is very easy to use and definitely worth looking into, they are so much better at cleaning up during dirty nappy changes. It’s not cheap but it really has saved me so much money buying packets of wipes, I know friends who can go through a packet of wipes in 2 days! I had a referral code that saves 15% off a £40 spend if it interests anyone that was looking to buy.

I used Naty 100% with first baby.

I take the point that once they’re in landfill they won’t degrade but:

1. no chemicals inside
2. I believe they use less waste/ energy to produce in the first place
3. not everything ends up in landfill. If a nappy goes into the sea - and lots do - it’s better to have a non chemical/ low plastic nappy.

With number 2 I bought a few reusables. Was about 10% reusable and 90% Naty. Got on ok with reusables so have been buying a few every few weeks. She’s almost 2 months and I’m probably 25% Naty now. I’d like to use cloth 100% but realistically I won’t use them on holidays etc but on an average day I reckon I can get to 100%, I just need a few more nappies.

Definitely think about wipes also.

Reusable wipes are easier I think than cloth nappies so an easy switch to make. Also not that expensive.

I realise my comment was not really related to your question at all. But definitely try cloth nappies if you are interested in being more eco friendly. If you contact a local cloth nappy initiative they often hire out a kit to try different brands for about £10-£20. I’ve read that a lot of the eco friendly disposables are still not great for the environment.