• pregnancy & baby
• parenting
• horoscopes
• health
• beauty
• food & drink
• diet & fitness
• more ivillage
  • • Travel
    • Entertainment
    • Home & Garden
    • Relationships
    • Work & Money
    • Shopping
  • • Competitions
    • Dating
    • Quizzes
    • Newsletters
    • Kalimocho.co.uk
    • Wii Fit Plus
  • 

Cotton on to real nappies

You may think that cotton nappies have been superceded by disposables. Not so - they're being revived, and the Women's Environmental Network is leading the campaign. Elizabeth Hartigan is a convert

Have you ever picked up a disposable nappy, held it to your cheek and said: 'Isn't it gorgeous?' Not likely. But when I recently received a soft, fitted, cotton nappy with Velcro fastening, enclosed in a breathable fleece cover, my reaction was just that, and I couldn't resist holding it to my cheek.

Manufacturers are doing their best to make disposable nappies attractive, with bright colours and prints, but they're still made of paper and plastics, which don't exactly make them appealing to the touch.

Preparing for the birth of a baby, most mums are careful to choose the most soft and delicate clothing to go next to their baby's tender new skin.

But the same people who are scouring the shops for organic cotton vests for their newborns, are putting their babies bottoms into a chemical filled environment, without a second look at the range of organic cotton and wool nappies now on the market.

You see, pins and plastic pants are things of the past. There are a huge variety of cloth nappies, from shaped and elasticated, Velcro fastening all-in-one designs, to silk liners and pretty printed waterproof covers.

Disposable nappies are just too convenient, you counter. So why should you contemplate washing your own nappies? Well, more and more people are choosing to do just that, whether it's due to cost, concern for the environment or, simply, wanting the best for baby. 'Washing cotton nappies is not a problem,' explains Alison Knight, mother of a lively two-year-old.

'A lot of things are different with a new baby. It's just a matter of establishing a routine. I use a 60 degree wash - you don't have to boil wash to kill the bacteria.'

In these days of automatic washing machines and central heating, laundry is not the time consuming chore it was before the introduction of disposables.

read more:  1 |  2 |  3 | next printer friendly send to a friend