Nappies - where are all the environmentalists!

Hawthorn

As I said Freddy, each has it's pitfalls, and there is no completely green way to nappy a baby. Each does damage to the environment in it's own way.
My way, however, I do save cash LOL.

The argument about Macdonalds milk shakes? Not reassuring in any form LMAO. That stuff is vile, I tell ye!

Sarahsaver

From a web search i just did re. nappy gel.
A friend recently told me a horrific story about the time her daughter's disposable nappy split during the night and in the morning she found the gel from inside the nappy all over her daughter's face. NHS Direct told her to go to A&E immediately as the gel can kill if it is swallowed or inhaled, because it absorbs water from the body and swells up and can therefore block the baby's passages

Freddyk i am very interested in your strong opinions re. disposables. Are you involved in the industry?

freddykruggar

Hawthorn wrote: »

The argument about Macdonalds milk shakes? Not reassuring in any form LMAO. That stuff is vile, I tell ye!

Point taken!

from a money point of view you save money, but I doubt it will be much when you factor in all the true costs.

My main point is from an environmental angle there is little to choose when you take in to account manufacture,transport,use and disposal.

freddykruggar

Sarahsaver wrote: »

From a web search i just did re. nappy gel.
A friend recently told me a horrific story about the time her daughter's disposable nappy split during the night and in the morning she found the gel from inside the nappy all over her daughter's face. NHS Direct told her to go to A&E immediately as the gel can kill if it is swallowed or inhaled, because it absorbs water from the body and swells up and can therefore block the baby's passages

Freddyk i am very interested in your strong opinions re. disposables. Are you involved in the industry?

I was a couple of years back

Hawthorn

I do think from the environmental angle, it depends very much on the person using them. With disposables, you have a 'set cost' that isn't going to vary overmuch. With reusables, they can either be very green, or not green at all, depending on what you do with them!

Sarahsaver

I only boil washed mine when the kids had their immunisations, otherwise 60 degrees is fine.

Mum_of_3_3

Another interesting point is that my Dad oversees various international projects for the company he works for and they were recently involved in building a nappy factory in Belgium.

He told me that each day he would be covered in a fine layer of white dust that was included in the nappy linings, he said it was awful and wouldn't wash off as it was water resistant (I guess they use it in the lower part of the nappy nearest the bit that touches the babygrows/clothes).

I asked him what it was and he said it was finely ground marble!! Surely that's a major environmental cost in itself, let alone it the fact it's going into a disposable nappy!

Hi Floxxie! Please don't think I've got anything against people bottle feeding, I haven't I've just got a thing against Nestle for totally distorting facts and giving them to (mostly) uneducated, illiterate mothers who don't have either the nouse or the resources to find out whether what they're being told is correct or not.

I just wanted to illustrate my point that throughout every section of our lives we have/want to do things that are not nessicarily the most greenest option, but that doesn't make us 'bad' people or environmentaly unfriendly especially when in other areas we may be the greenest hippiest sandlewearingist people in the world.

And there's nothing that puts people backs up than being told what to do.

We have recycled all of our rubbish for years & years now and I never minded doing any of it, but I do resent it now that the Local Council 'Green Brigade' have started dictating to us about it all (especially when their kerbside collection doesn't include plastic, batteries or cardboard :rolleyes: )

What I dislike most though are people who form judgements against people's choices without knowing why those people have gone down that route and won't give them a chance to explain before they start shouting at them about how they are wrong.

M_o_3

tipplehead

Hi there,

My son was born with problems with his "boy bits", when we went to the urologists we were advised to put him in cloth nappies because there is much evidence coming through that disposables have a major effect on fertility in males. The two urologist we see are participating in research studying the effects of disposable wear on the development of the testicles and they said the results are very worrying. Apparently disposables raise the temperature of the testicles, due the the chemical reactions that are taking place inside the nappy, this high temperature is limiting the growth and function of the testes. They also said that there is a chemical still found in major brand disposables that causes toxic shock (although the industry has said that it has taken the chemical out, this research has found it still present in disposables, at least 3 times more than the maximum recommend exposure was found) - this is the same chemical that was banned in sanitary wear. This chemical can leak from the nappy in crystals and has been found in the urethras of the children studied. I got the impression that in the field of urology disposables are viewed as the enemy. My boy now wears cloth!

Floxxie

Sarahsaver wrote: »

I only boil washed mine when the kids had their immunisations, otherwise 60 degrees is fine.

Hi Sarahsaver,

As a newby to the reusable side, what do you mean by your comment? Are you suggesting that the 'excess' of the immunisation needs killing off with hotter washing?

I ask because I read an argument against disposables saying that live Polio is in the nappies (presumably before immunisation) and I had a chuckle and thought, wow , that's an extreme argument...

Floxxie

Floxxie

tipplehead wrote: »

Hi there,

My son was born with problems with his "boy bits", when we went to the urologists we were advised to put him in cloth nappies because there is much evidence coming through that disposables have a major effect on fertility in males. The two urologist we see are participating in research studying the effects of disposable wear on the development of the testicles and they said the results are very worrying. Apparently disposables raise the temperature of the testicles, due the the chemical reactions that are taking place inside the nappy, this high temperature is limiting the growth and function of the testes. They also said that there is a chemical still found in major brand disposables that causes toxic shock (although the industry has said that it has taken the chemical out, this research has found it still present in disposables, at least 3 times more than the maximum recommend exposure was found) - this is the same chemical that was banned in sanitary wear. This chemical can leak from the nappy in crystals and has been found in the urethras of the children studied. I got the impression that in the field of urology disposables are viewed as the enemy. My boy now wears cloth!

I suppose it makes sense - anything made 'artificially' seems to be under attack these days for upsetting what the body should be doing/taking in naturally. I find myself moving towards natural 'ingredients', whether this is pressure form the media or plain common sense, I haven't worked out yet!...

Floxxie