Nappies - where are all the environmentalists!

Cardew

Hawthorn wrote: »

.........and cloth nappies DO work out cheaper.

I am pretty certain you are correct; however I wonder by how much?

The problem is there is so much misinformation on the web posted by organisations with vested interests.

From what I have seen, a baby will need anything from between 2,000 and 5,000 nappies.

It seems that disposable nappies from a supermarket cost around 10p.

So the cost will be £200 to £500.

I wouldn't like to hazard a guess on how much it will cost to buy nappies and wash and dry them 2,000 to 5,000 times; but I can't think there will be a huge difference.

Having used both 'systems' if it cost £1,000 more for disposable nappies it would be money well spent!!!

freddykruggar

Cardew wrote: »

I am pretty certain you are correct; however I wonder by how much?

The problem is there is so much misinformation on the web posted by organisations with vested interests.

From what I have seen, a baby will need anything from between 2,000 and 5,000 nappies.

It seems that disposable nappies from a supermarket cost around 10p.

So the cost will be £200 to £500.

I wouldn't like to hazard a guess on how much it will cost to buy nappies and wash and dry them 2,000 to 5,000 times; but I can't think there will be a huge difference.

Having used both 'systems' if it cost £1,000 more for disposable nappies it would be money well spent!!!

Your spot on :beer:

geordie_joe

freddykruggar wrote: »

Then your conclusion is WAY off the mark,

Pampers are made by Proctor and Gamble in a factory near Manchester and Huggies are made by Kimberley Clark at a factory in Barton upon Humber.

Not sure who else P&G make nappies for but Kimberley Clark used to make Boots and Super Drug nappies.

You really need to get your facts right before making silly statements like that.

I think you are guilty of hearing that a factory makes huggies, and another makes pampers and assuming all those brands of nappies are made at only those two factories.

freddykruggar wrote: »

Also it takes ALOT more raw materials to make 1 reuseable compared to 1 disposible

Well that's a twisted argument if ever I heard one. One reusable nappy can take the place of many disposable ones.

freddykruggar wrote: »

As for the studies for both, ALL costs where factored in, including transportation. And your comment re: JFK :rolleyes: totally different, ALL studies have shown there is no difference.

Are you trying to tell me that the nappy industry is the only one that does not pay people to produce reports in their favour? That's a bit of a coincidence then, the disposable nappy industry and the reusable nappy industry being the only honest ones on the planet.

freddykruggar wrote: »

You also said
'Making people redundant could be good for the environment. If they are unemployed they might not have so much money to spend on things they don't need'

exactly my point, you would rather us all live in caves/mud huts. pathetic

No I would not, as I said earlier, I am not a greenie, just a money saver. Sad that you refuse to see that and have to resort to low remarks like that.

geordie_joe

Cardew wrote: »

From what I have seen, a baby will need anything from between 2,000 and 5,000 nappies.

It seems that disposable nappies from a supermarket cost around 10p.

So the cost will be £200 to £500.

I wouldn't like to hazard a guess on how much it will cost to buy nappies and wash and dry them 2,000 to 5,000 times; but I can't think there will be a huge difference.

I read erlier, but can't find the page now, that an A rated Bosch WFL 2450 used 0.95 units of electricity per hot wash.

That's about 10p. I'm pretty sure my ex-missus had 24 nappies for our kids and washed them when 18 were dirty.

So the cost of washing them is 10p / 18 for the cost of the electricity plus the cost of the detergent and water. never had a tumble drier so haven't included that.

Cardew wrote: »

Having used both 'systems' if it cost £1,000 more for disposable nappies it would be money well spent!!!

I agree with that, but the question was which is cheaper and better for the environment, not which is easiest and more convenient.

freddykruggar

geordie_joe wrote: »

I think you are guilty of hearing that a factory makes huggies, and another makes pampers and assuming all those brands of nappies are made at only those two factories.

No, I did not hear that, I know it. and I only mentioned those 2 because they are the market leaders with majority sales, there are other uk nappy companies. ALL Huggies Nappies and Pampers for sale in the UK ARE MADE IN THE UK.

Unlike you I research before I make stupid statements.

I suppose you are one of the people who say your car runs better on Shell than BP or whatever? not realising that most come from the same tanks in the refinery.... and I know thats got nothing to do with nappies, but then again neither did JFK :rolleyes:


Edit: forget that, your a sandle wearing greenie, you wont have a car, instead you'll have a stick and a hoop.....

geordie_joe

freddykruggar wrote: »

No, I did not hear that, I know it. and I only mentioned those 2 because they are the market leaders with majority sales, there are other uk nappy companies. ALL Huggies Nappies and Pampers for sale in the UK ARE MADE IN THE UK.

Unlike you I research before I make stupid statements.

Care to share that research with the rest of us?

Not that it matters as this discussion was about transport costs, and you seemed to claim there were none with nappies as they were made here, from pulp imported from france.

You also failed to reply to this

So, they are assembled using materials brought in from other countries. What is the difference in transport costs between manufacturing in the country where the raw materials are and transporting the finished product here, and shipping all the raw materials here and manufacturing the finished product in this country?

freddykruggar wrote: »

I suppose you are one of the people who say your car runs better on Shell than BP or whatever? not realising that most come from the same tanks in the refinery.... and I know thats got nothing to do with nappies, but then again neither did JFK :rolleyes:

I thought you did research before making stupid statements? Obviously you don't otherwise you would not have written the above.

freddykruggar wrote: »

Edit: forget that, your a sandle wearing greenie, you wont have a car, instead you'll have a stick and a hoop.....

Insults don't help, or put you in a good light. But as I like to help people in this forum I will tell you that you are on the right track when you start to research my driving.

freddykruggar

I did mention transportation, I said that when everything is taken into account, including transportation, there is nothing to choose between them.
I dont need to show you proof that huggies and pampers are made in the UK, ring them if you dont believe me, I know cause I worked for one of them for over 12 years.


Re your comment on petrol, do I take it you think all fuels are different? with the exception of Shell who pump an additive into the forecourt tanks, the rest of the big boys, and that includes supermarkets aswell most of the time (although they do sometimes import cheap fuel) they fill at the same refinery.
And I know this, I live on the doorstep of a large refinery that employs alot of people I know.

If you already know this, fair enough, but I suspect you dont with the comment you made.

As for the insults... my opinion and not an insult. I think to many people are jumping on the greenie band wagon. The government needs to put a stop to it before you all have us unemployed and living in mud huts.

geordie_joe

freddykruggar wrote: »

I did mention transportation, I said that when everything is taken into account, including transportation, there is nothing to choose between them.

That's not the way I remember it.

freddykruggar wrote: »

I dont need to show you proof that huggies and pampers are made in the UK, ring them if you dont believe me, I know cause I worked for one of them for over 12 years.

I don't doubt they are made in the UK, but you claimed that every single pampers and huggies sold in th Uk was made in the UK, in capitals if I remember right.

I know this is not true as when I was in Somerfield today I looked and some types of Pampers were made in Germany.

I do not doubt that that you worked for them for 12 years and that if I rang them they would say they are made in the UK. But a few weeks ago I had a job interview and the HR person and the Director that interviewed me took great delight in in telling me it was a small family business that manufactured all it's products on the premises. .I thought this very odd as the night before when I was looking at their web site it said they scalled back production in 1990 due to a lack of skilled tradesmen and since then have imported most of their products directly from the manufacturer in the USA.

freddykruggar wrote: »

Re your comment on petrol, do I take it you think all fuels are different?

No, the comment was aimed at you not doing your research before making statements about what I drive. If you had then you would have found post in here where I say I don't drive and have never driven. Not because I am against cars, but the time and place I was born meant I never had a need to drive so didn't even consider learning.

freddykruggar wrote: »

As for the insults... my opinion and not an insult.

Well I consider

Post #16

Ultimately if you sandle wearing greenies get your way we'll all be back living in caves sat around a fire..... no wait, no fire cause that pollutes the atmosphere, so we'll all freeze to death in the winter and then the earth will be safe from us.......

Post #21

exactly my point, you would rather us all live in caves/mud huts. pathetic

Post #26

Edit: forget that, your a sandle wearing greenie, you wont have a car, instead you'll have a stick and a hoop.....

To be insults. Deliberate insults at that.

freddykruggar wrote: »

I think to many people are jumping on the greenie band wagon.

But I am not a greenie, I have stated that several times in this thread. I have also stated it in many other posts. Yet you continually call me one!

freddykruggar wrote: »

The government needs to put a stop to it before you all have us unemployed and living in mud huts.

There you go again, I don't want anyone to be unemployed or live in a mud hut. All I want is to know which is cheaper and better for the environment, using disposable nappies or using reusable ones.

So far all you have done is say

OMG not that one again......

there's nothing to choose between both types

and hurl insults at anyone who dared to disagree with you.

Hawthorn

Bear in mind, a lot of people buy cloth nappies for their first, and use them for subsequent babies, or even sell them on - there's a roaring trade for second hand reusables out there It also cuts down on the environmental cost.
It does all depend on who's using them and how, really. Someone with an energy efficient washer who uses eco powder to wash with, and line dries, is going to be a lot more efficient than someone who soaks in nappisan, boil washes in ariel, then tumble dries the whole lot.....and is spending more cash to boot.
Also depends on the type of nappies used - flat terries will see you from newborn to toddler, depending on the fold, and are cheaper than the shaped nappies which you may have to buy several sizes in.
Someone using disposable liner will spend more than someone using fleece liners.
Someone using disposable wipes, will spend more than someone using washable - once you've outlayed for the washable wipes and liners, they are essentially free because they get washed with the nappies.
It is entirely possible to spend MORE on reusable nappies these days, given all of the different types/colours/fashions (yes really LOL)

All you can do in this situation, is what you gauge to be best. There IS no hard and fast evidence.....just a lot of squabbling between the two opposite sides.

As a side note, I did read once that the crystals used in disposable nappies haven't actually been tested properly, and were leaching chemicals into our precious babies skin? Not sure how true this is, or if it has been rectified by this point, or if it's just more fuel to the fire added by the cloth nappy brigade.

Wouldn't surprise me if it was true, given the amount of crap that gets added even to our food.

Floxxie

I just made a purchase today of 20 reusable nappies. My council is paying me £60 towards the cost of them.

Why have I done it? Well I can put out two black bin bags a week - 1 1/2 of them are filled with dirty nappies. And when the weather is warm, the smell is unbearable (and they are in my garden until collected).

I shall be putting them in my wash along with the other washing that I do on a daily basis so there will be no difference to my costs. They do not need to be soaked or have any special treatment (except avoidance of conditioner)

I have paid up front and will no longer have to pay out on a weekly basis in my shopping and because I am using the ones that start from birth until potty, I can use them on both children.

I find the slagging off on here unbelievable. I have chosen reusables over disposables because I would like an easy life with a garden that does not stink of children's poo!

Before when I was working, I couldn't care less about the bin bags, as the nursery got rid of the nappies. Now I am at home, disposables have presented a completely different problem for me so time for them to go.


Floxxie