To not understand common attitudes to disposable personal hygiene products?

[hooochycoo]

I'm confronted by this again and again on MN, and I confess I don't understand why it's OK to justify using disposable nappies, wet wipes, sanitary protection etc? Why is it OK to add so much rubbish to the world on the justification of convenience when there are alternatives that are still easy but generate less or no waste? Use a flannel, use a moon up, put/hold your baby regularly over a toilet/ potty, use modern easy quick drying cloth nappies. Why's it OK to recoil in horror at the hippyness of such things? But it's ok to continue buying disposable rubbish from huge corporations and throw them into landfill? Apart from an argument of "each to their own", aibu to not get it?

There's a good study linked too above about environmental impact of cloth vs disposable. If you by second hand, use for more than one child, don't tumble dry etc. it's better.

Feminismwise, I genuinely don't find using a mooncup or cloth nappies unfeminist.

The face at the end of my comment turns the comment into a joke not an assumption.

op are you absolutely sure you arnt a middle aged male reporter for the daily mail or that silly old twat in UKIP who wants us all to clean under our fridges??

please enjoy your 1930s house maid existence but for me and my dds life is about the fun.

Oh well. I guessing still don't understand.

Off to weave go I, leaving my maid and rich husband to tier the children and wash my organic fanny sponges

Yes, but most people will use tumble dryers, or are they (another labour saving device) not allowed either? You're going to tell me I should sweep my floors with a broom rather than switch on the roomba as I walk out the house to do something more interesting aren't you?

And you still haven't explained why to: But I think that saying you 'can't be arsed' and viewing your own convenience against the resources of the planet is wrong! Why is my limited time resource not something that is of importance?

Did anyone say that mooncups or cloth nappies are unfeminist? Taking away choice for women is though.

The thought of washing blood and gunk out of a pad or runny poos from a nappy makes me feel physically sick.

OP I get what you're saying but you're on a one woman quest to save the world.

binky exactly.

I started using reusable nappies a year ago when DS1 was approaching 2 and I was pg. I still have 2 in nappies and find them convenient. When I'm out, they go in a lined wetbag along with the reusable wipes. I still use some disposables, but using reusables a minumum of 75% of the time makes a massive difference to our bin capacity and little difference to the amount of laundry generated by the family. I have no problems with smell despite DS1's legendary digestive output from his food allergies/ intolerences (nursery staff shudder at the memories). If a residual odour does build up, a couple of days on the washing line in any weather works wonders. DS2's milk poo is guarenteed to blast through a disposable nappy into his clothes, so I'm still washing an item everytime he poos, and it's easier to change the nappy only, than strip his outfit and lug extra spare clothes. I've had very few poo leaks from reusables. DS1 leaks much less in them too as they're better sealed against it oozing up his back. I wish I'd got into it sooner.

Reusable wipes are totally awesome. It used to take 12+ disposables to deal with a dirty nappy change. I'd fill up a flimsy nappy bag at least with the wipes alone. I normally saved the bother and showered him which could be 2 or 3 times a day at his worst. Even a stonker can be done in 4 reusable wipes. DS2 is still mainly milk poo and is done in one wipe or two. The cotton flannel is much better at foody hands and faces as the gunk grips on. I've not bought disposable wipes in over a year.

Reusable breast pads have saved a fortune. Bamboo ones are very absorbant and have are much more comfortable than plastic backed ones which I found sweaty in the warmer weather. They also don't screw up in your bra, and I no longer find manky used breastpads festering in the bottom of the changing bag as they go in the wetbag.

I'm going to try CSP when the need arises. I haven't had the need since learning of its existance. Hopefully it won't have that horrid chaffing feeling that I get from disposable pads.

Oh and reusable nappies are very funky and pretty, and they have resale value when I've finished using them. Now I'm finished with the smaller ones, I'm going to lend them to an interested friend to try. I also need less nappies in the changing bag as both boys wear the same size with the nappies being adjustable, rather than two sets of sized disposables.

Reusable products won't work for everyone all of the time, but part time use still makes a positive difference. I find them convenient enough, and the function and practicality is quite different to what many people imagine. My thoughts on nappies when pg with DS1 were totally out of date!

It may be marginally better, but many nurseries can't handle cloth nappies. If you don't use / have a tumble dryer, then getting them dry in the North of England without a garden is a pain - room constantly full of laundry as it is.

Have you ever noticed that when people find it difficult to do something they tend to react very badly to someone else turning up and saying 'but it's so easy, I don't know why you find it so difficult'
add in saying ' and of course the way you're doing it is so bad for the planet, and so wasteful' and you have thrown in guilt - you do not get a polite considered response.
So if you say to people who are getting to grips with having a baby, struggling with menstruation, balancing either of these with working etc etc that the means they are using to manage and get by are lazy and ruining the planet and it's all so easy anyway you will annoy people and entrench them in those behaviours.
I used cloth napppies because internet support made information and problem solving available, I did not need guilt at that stage of my life.
Show some compassion and words fail me if you really can't see that menstruation and having a career can be a feminist issue.

My mother had twins, so 2 lots of pooey nappies to wash daily in the 1950s.
Yet another reason I don't want to go back to the 1950s.

Gawd the world is full of depressing mysteries. Why pick on this one? How can human beings be so clever and produce such amazing technology, and then go around using it to kill each other? How that can happen at all in the 21st century?

Kind of makes the reusable nappy debate seem trivial, doesn't it?

"And I think it's uneducated to decide the alternatives aren't for you without having researched or tried them. "

Has anyone said that though? Because in this thread where people have talked about their reasons they've made a conscious choice to use disposable so have put some thought/research into it. They may not have tried it, but some things you don't need to try to know they aren't right for you.

Binkyridesagain - I think it's more that they add extra work to the household, and once you've accepted the premise that using something that is more damaging to the environment is not acceptable even if it does make your life a little easier, then all household appliances come under that - dishwasher? No you could wash up yourself. Tumble dryer? No, you could have wet washing around your house. Hoover/roomba? No, you could use broom and effort. Cleaning products? There are natural products that arent mass produced and while will get your house clean, take more time. Your shopping being delivered in a nice van? nope, you could wander up and down the high street each day sourcing locally produced and seasonal foods.

And who will do all this additional labour in the home? ah, woman. Woman will do it. And when they have filled up all their time running the house, they won't want one of those annoying career things.

Fair enough lolly, thanks for your post. I respect your post.

So you're saying that it's because women have difficult lives, that having a baby and menstruating is hard? That that justifies using convenience as a reason for not caring about the impact their choices can have on the environment?

I don't feel guilty at all, not one bit.

used pampers for my 4 kids. me and dds use tampons and face wipes.

the thought of washing dirty nappies or scrubbing blood clots off pads sounds vile, appalling and dirty to me. yeuk yeuk!

and again most of us DONT have the TIME to do this.

we are far to busy working and playing.

if you want to he martyrs go ahead. but mind your business what other women do/don't do.

I have a bit of a crunchy undertone and have dabbled with cloth over the course of my three kids but life just gets in the way especially with small age gaps, school, playgroup etc. my sons nursery are happy to change cloth as there's a mum and child who SE them and they did the same for her big brother. I do try in other ways like wipes too but my heart is not 100% in it all of the time.

I'm absolutely a moon cup convert, well mines a femmecup but it's the same idea. My period is so much less of an ordeal since using it and I forget I've hot my period most of the time.

Oh and reusable breast pads are fab, I love them and would never use dispos past the early leaking stage.

I'm tempted to go back to cloth nappies after this, maybe I'll give it a go.

I have nothing useful to add to this as I don't have periods (god bless whoever invented the depo) but I did laugh at 'worry about your own crevices' and 'I knit my own internet

Er, as you were.

Before having DS I was looking into cloth nappies etc. More for the long term financial incentive than anything. Savings sounded excellent to me.

However once DS actually turned up and I realised the sheer volume of clothes washing a small child generates I quickly realised I just couldn't manage it. It's my biggest annoyance in this flat that I can never get on top of the washing, every door/radiator is constantly covered in damp clothes/towels/sheets, the airer is in the way wherever we put it, I long for a day where all washing is done and isn't draped around the place! All the best will in the world isn't going to make it possible for me to keep up with the washing I have now, let alone adding to it!

Why are you only discussing the choices that women are making? there are many products that men use that have an effect on the environment.

many users of this site live with men or are having relationships with men, some of them even interact with men as friends there are even men who post on here (keep that a secret). Why aren't you raising these environmental issues with regards to male products, theres a chance we can influence their choices.

In some ways I am saying that but that's only a minuscule part of the story. It is always possible to do more, everyone knows that which is why talking about some of this stuff induces guilt and knee jerk hacked off responses.
Having a baby and menstruation and two things that apply to women (obv much of the baby care can be done by men, but it often isn't) some women find it easy, some find it hard most of us go through phases of both. The likelihood of someone finding it hard, struggling and feeling guilty is already quite high, why pick on these moments to focus on asking why are you putting convenience over the environment? Why not focus on flying, on corporate jaunts abroad, on corrupt governments etc. Why focus on women at a vulnerable time.
In addition there is a long historical tradition of menstruation bring a punishment on womankind ; for many people talking of washing out rags etc keys right into that sensibility and the memories of grandparents talking about the 'curse' and laughing about the pain you will endure.

I'm kind of on the fence here, because I used cloth nappies (and had two in nappies for TWO FRICKING YEARS at the same time) and honestly, honest to goodness did not find them any more work than disposables, and so much cheaper (folded terries, initial outlay was well under £50, with the odd tenner to buy more wraps and another dozen nappies now and then). But nearly three year old DS now pees like a horse and in order to keep him dry he either has to have twenty hundred layers on (can't get trousers over) or disposables. He's been in sposies for the past three months really, and I feel a bit shit about it, but not prepared to spend the time and money to find a workable cloth alternative when he will probably train in the next couple of months. I do sort of feel like I am being lazy and that most people using disposables are being lazy, but not in a massively judgy way, just in a sort of 'I prioritise X and you prioritise Y and that's ok' kind of way. Like my life is too short to be doing elimination communication. I mean REALLY.

I happen to think that disposable pads, tampons and breast pads ming, but they're not the work of the devil or anything. And of course I do have an emergency pack of Always in case I forget my mooncup (but they make my fanny smelly and sweaty, so try not to use them).

I get a lot of pulled faces and disgusted looks when I mention the cloth nappies. Which is why generally I don't mention them unless I'm trying to prove my hippy credentials.

I use a Mooncup AND I use wet wipes. No children yet, and so I have no opinion or experience on the whole nappy thing. I intend to do what works best in my family.

The thing is OP, we all try to do what we can for the planet within the context of our own family life. Some people will find cloth nappies, mooncups etc easiest, and others will find that they prefer disposable sanpro and nappies. It really is none of your business what other people do, and to try to change it does come across as a bit overinvested tbh. And actually, I think convenience is a really good reason for choosing something - it is why I started using the Mooncup in fact!

But I still don't agree convenience is a valid argument

So can you please explain why you use loo roll and not flannels/cloths?

I'm really interested in your reasoning on that one.