There are plenty of modern cloth nappies available to buy. They come in all different styles, designs and colours. Modern cloth nappies are made from a variety of materials including cotton, terry cloth and bamboo. The nappies are typically shaped to fit baby with minimal folding, are breathable, and kind to your baby’s skin.You have a choice between using a hybrid kind of nappy - with a outer 'pant' and an inner disposable insert that goes in the loo; or a fully cloth nappy. If you choose the fully cloth option, you’ll need to buy at least twenty individual nappies. You can buy money saving packs from one supplier, or choose a variety of different styles and brands to see which you prefer.
The average baby requires 3000 nappy changes in the first year alone and more than 5000 in a nappy life, dependent upon how long baby is in them. If everyone in Australia used disposable nappies, 900 million nappies would end up in landfill each year. Each 'conventional' disposable nappy takes at least 200 years to decompose. If you are looking for environmentally friendly answers, the choice is still between two devils - even if you go eco. There are increasing numbers of compostable and biodegradable options around, but they are not yet entirely biodegradable. Cotton nappies are not very environmentally friendly in their production and of course they require washing.
Once you have collected a bag of dirty nappies, you will need to wash them. Stick the whole bag in the machine with some eco laundry detergent like Soap Nuts.Your nappies should leave the washing machine smelling fresh, looking clean and feeling soft. Hang them on the line and use sunshine to help further sterilize them.