Using modern cloth nappies (mcn) on your baby is an entirely personal preference. Some people love the financial benefits of using cloth. Others avoid disposibles to reduce their environmental impact. Some modern mums and dads choose cloth because they simply can't resist the gorgeous designs and colours!

There is no right or wrong reason for using MCNs. Here are the most common reasons that we have found as to why people use or switch to modern cloth nappies, rather than using disposables.

cloth is EASY TO USE

Gone are the days of soaking, folding and pinning using terry squares and plastic pilchers. Modern reusable cloth nappies are as easy to put on your baby as a disposable, and as easy to wash as throwing in a dry bucket and loading into your washing machine every few days. You can even wash them with your normal household laundry items - how easy is that?!

Believe it or not, some children also really do enjoy the simple task of heading out to the washing line on a sunny day and handing you the pegs, or chatting to you from their bouncy chair. A trip to the wheelie bin just isn’t as pleasurable.

cloth is BETTER FOR BUBS

Cloth means natural fibres against your baby’s skin rather than the chemicals found in disposables. This helps to reduce nappy rash and skin irritations - especially important if your baby has sensitivities and skin conditions such as eczema.

Cloth also provides a cooler and more breathable environment for your baby’s booty and groin area (especially important for the little dudes, where an increase in temperature to the groin has raised concerns with some parents over potential reproductive problems later down the track!).

Plus, would you prefer that gorgeous bottom to be snuggled up in bamboo and organic cotton or wrapped up in plastic?

cloth is BETTER FOR YOUR WALLET

It's a fact even this little bumGenius knows! Cloth nappies can save you a bundle!

Even by purchasing the most expensive reusable cloth nappies on the market, and only using them for one child, you will still save over a thousand dollars over using disposable nappies. Here's an example:

Child 1
30 months of disposable nappy changes (7,305 changes) as calculated using the disposable nappy weight ranges and ave. nappy cost = $3,639.21*
Going a much cheaper brand at 30c each for only 6,000 nappy changes will still cost $1,800.
The total cost of a deluxe tailored nappy package from Booty Crawl = $800.00 however cheaper options for $350-400 are also available.
This means the total savings for using cloth could be up to $2,800

Child 2
Scenario 1: No more outlay! You save the whole $3,639.21 for this baby, plus $2,839.21 you've already saved = total saving of almost $6,500

Scenario 2: Replace half of your nappy stash with new nappies. You save up to $3,239.21 for this baby, plus up to $2,839.21 you've already saved = total saving of $6,078.42

Scenario 3: Buy a whole new nappy stash for Child 2. You save $2,000 for this baby, plus $2,000 you've already saved = total saving of over $4,000.

Child 3
You probably need to replace a few by now but you get the picture...

cloth is BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

It's not the main objective of our business to convince you that reusable cloth nappies are better for the environment; we’re sure you have an inkling if you’ve already started looking around at reusable cloth nappies. But maybe you want to be reassured that they are, before you start your nappy stash?

There is still some debate around the extent of the environmental benefits of reusable cloth nappies. Some people have heard of the 2005 study conducted by the UK’s Environment Agency which concluded that there wasn’t that much of a benefit!?! Understandably, there was lots (and lots) of criticism of this study by lots (and lots) of people.

One major criticism was that they used the equivalent of a ‘vintage’ washing machine for their energy consumption tests. Since the 80’s, both fashion and washing machine efficiency have dramatically improved. The measurement on fashion progress might be subjective, but the water and energy consumption of washing machines has dramatically decreased! The 2006 update conceded that the global warming effect of reusable cloth nappies would only be higher than disposables if you never washed your nappies in a full load of washing, never line dried them, washed them at 90 degrees (you should never wash your nappies higher than 60 degrees) and didn’t use them on a second child (or sell them second-hand or give them to someone). You can read that update here.

Another major criticism of the original study was that it failed to take into account the impact of waste, or the energy that goes into the manufacture of disposable (and cloth) nappies. The New Parent's Guide estimates that disposable nappies generate around 5 million tonnes of untreated waste, and 2 billion tonnes of urine, faeces, plastic and paper in landfill each year. And, it takes about 80,000 pounds of plastic and 200,000 trees each year to make disposable nappies just for the babies in the USA alone.

I know babies don’t come with a manual, but somewhere along the line, someone forgot to remind us that when babies start eating real food, they do real poos, and that the toilet, not the rubbish bin is the best place for those (whether you use cloth or disposable nappies). Some people even think that there is a risk that untreated waste placed in landfill could be a danger to contaminating ground water in the future.

Just remember that it takes many centuries for a disposable nappy to break down which means that every disposable nappy which has ever been used is still here today. Even if you only substituted a couple of nappy changes per day to reusable cloth nappies, you would still save hundreds of kilograms of waste from ending up in landfill (and save yourself hundreds of dollars to boot!).

cloth is CUTER

With an array of gorgeous colours and designs, it's undeniable, cloth is cuter! Booty Crawl stocks a range of modern cloth nappy brands including Grovia, Bambooty, Bare and Boho, Bumgenius, Baby Beehinds, Bubblebubs, Close Popins, Designer Bums, Econaps, Rumparooz and Seedling Baby that are simply too gorgeous to throw away. Visit the Perth showroom now and look at dozens of the cutest MCNs and see for yourself or take advantage of $8.80 shipping to anywhere in Australia.