Anyone who is using real nappies successfully generally wants to shout it from the rooftops. Afterall they're cutting waste, helping the environment, saving you money and look oh-so-cute!
There's a lot of discussion in the media about plastic bottles, coffee cups, straws etc. Real Nappies take just as long to decompose as plastic bottles (around 500 years) - so why aren't we talking about them? Afterall, we may use a couple of plastic bottles/coffee cups a week, but babies will be using 5-10 nappies a day!
But still, there's an aura of madness around real nappies. We often hear people say " I want to use real nappies but my family and friends think I've gone crazy". Most of the time it's simply because people assume real nappies consist of terry squares, folds, pins, crackly wraps, soaking, boiling etc...
If more people knew the realities of reusable nappies, they'd be more tempted to move (either full time or part time) away from single-use disposables.
So how do we promote cloth?
- just talk (preferably in a non-pushy way) to your friends and family. The more people who talk about it, the more normal it will become.
- encourage your midwife to discuss real nappies at antenatal classes.
- attend your local nappy library once in a while. Apart from being great social groups, they really help new parents understand the practicalities of using cloth from other users
- contact your local council. Some already have schemes in place to promote real nappies but others don't. Quiz your council.
- write to you local MP to support the new Nappies (Environmental Standards) Bill
