More and more parents are concerned about their carbon footprint and keeping the world green and clean for their future grownups.
Kellie Kearney is a super-busy award winning Irish parenting, lifestyle, and travel blogger at mylittlebabog.com and mama to Kayla (7), Frankie (3), Kadie (1) and Kenzie (9 months). An advocate for green parenting and a cloth nappy enthusiast, HerFamily Caught up with the eco-mum to find out why more and more mums are turning to cloth nappies environmentally-friendly products.
“I decided to use cloth nappies almost two years ago when I had two in nappies, now I have three. I originally went down the cloth nappy route as I was conscious about the environment and of course, I wanted to save a few pennies.
I remember back when I first heard about cloth nappies and thought, how gross! But they’re not what you’d imagine, they’ve really come a long way since the 80’s. Modern cloth nappies mirror disposables with snap or Velcro fastenings and elasticated waists and legs. They’re super cute and there is so many different designs and adorable prints to choose from and it’s actually very addictive once you get the hang of them.
Right now if we didn’t use cloth I’d be sending 170+ sposies to the dump and that just doesn’t sit well with me. Disposables take up to 500 years to break down and over the course of three years that a shit load of nappies!
There’s no chemicals in cloth, less poonamis – in fact, I save a fortune on my black bin and it’s a step closer to green parenting. Believe it or not they are not hard work once you get the hang of them, I only do two washes a week.
If you are considering giving cloth a whirl I’d say get in touch with the Cloth Nappy Library Ireland. They rent lots of different cloth nappy kits so you can give them a whirl without making a huge investment and see if cloth nappies are for you.”
If, like Kellie, you’re hoping to become more environmentally aware, we’ve rounded up our favourite eco-conscious baby products so you don’t have to:
Nappies
Despite being disposable, Moltex Eco Nappies are a good first step into the eco product market. The nappy is made from oxygen-bleached woodpulp, which is great for your baba’s sensitive skin and the environment, too. This brand has fewer chemicals than other nappies on the market and comes in cool biodegradable packaging, which can be composted. These nappies are available on the Irish website www.ecobaby.ie priced at €11.99 for a pack of forty-two. Although shipping will cost you €5.99 you can order up to three packs at once.
If you want to go completely eco-friendly like Kellie did, the newborn Bambino Mio Miosolo Reusable Nappy Set is available from www.boots.ie for €97.99. These multi-award winning nappies are 100% cotton and this set is an ideal starter pack, including 6 miosolo all-in-one nappies, 50 nappy liners, and a 100g sachet of nappy cleanser.
Skin-Care
Love Boo Baby Soothing Bottom Cream is the perfect cure for nappy rash and is made with completely natural materials. The cream contains cottonseed oil, Tahitian monoi and lavender oil, which will help keep your baby’s bottom moisturised and sooth any discomfort. It does not have any sulphates, petrochemicals, parabens or synthetic colours. It is available on www.cherishme.ie for €12.99/50mls.
Burt’s Bees Baby Bee Talc-Free Dusting Powder is an excellent (albeit pricier) alternative to talc and is widely available in pharmacies throughout Ireland. It will keep your baby fresh and dry and best of all, the product is paraben and phthalate-free.
Teething
Every mother I know has had Nelson’s Teetha teething granules in her handbag at one point or another, which are a completely natural solution to soothe the gums of your poor tortured baby. The product contains the herb chamomilla and best of all it’s widely available in chemists.
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