Why Eco Disposable Nappies?
Landfills Fill Me With Dread As I Fill Them With Disposable Nappies...
I mentioned in my first blog post that one of the things I was concerned about while subject to my bouts of eco-worrying, was the amount of disposable nappies I send to landfill.
It is (perceived) convenience that makes me love the disposable nappy – so sleek, so easy to dispose of (short-term anyway), they have pretty pictures on and they don’t need washing, they keep your baby dry and happy, if only they weren’t so indestructable in themselves, and destructive to the environment as a result!
I was hoping I could find an equally convenient disposable eco-friendly nappy, so that I could put one of my major eco-worries to bed.
Hence the review of eco-friendly disposable nappies at www.minkbaby.co.uk!
Why Eco Disposables? What about cloth nappies?
Cloth Nappies - Eco Friendly Too?
I thought about continuing to use the modern style of cloth nappies, which we used when Georgie was very little (she is currently 19 months). This is why I decided to see if I could find a genuinely eco-friendly nappy before thinking about cloth nappies again:
- I noticed that Georgie tended to get more uncomfortable and had more nappy rash with washable nappies than with disposable, especially at night. I could just have been doing it wrong, and I will look at cloth nappies at another time.
- Crèches generally will not accept babies in cloth nappies
- Extra water, chemicals and energy are used when washing baby nappies at home
- Disposables are more convenient for today’s busy lifestyle
- Not everyone has access to a ‘nappy service’
- Independent studies confirm that ordinary disposables and washable nappies are equally damaging to the environment, even if they use different resources.
[most of the above bullet points were found at www.ecobaby.ie - I had my doubts about how truly eco friendly cloth nappies were and ecobaby seems to be able to confirm those doubts as being reasonable]
So I thought that I should find out more about eco-friendly disposable nappies.
How will Eco Disposables Shape Up Compared With Leading Non-Eco Brands?
Good Question...
I must admit I was slightly concerned about the idea of using eco-disposable nappies. I really do have in my mind that being eco-friendly must involve a great deal of inconvenience, suffering second best in a noble fashion for the sake of the environment. This appears to be my deep-seated belief, and probably does account for my tendency to eco-freak-out in the face of positive, eco-friendly change.
I have been very happy to go with supermarket disposable nappies, and just before I started this trial with Moltex, I had been using Morrissons nappies, which ever ones were cheaper at the time. However in the two weeks leading up to this review, I had been using Huggies because my parents were kind enough to buy us a great big box from Costco.
These Huggies are pretty, and they feel nice, and you’d think they’d be great because they are a leading brand. But you know what? These Huggies leaked overnight nine nights out of fourteen
Now to be totally fair, there may be many reasons for this that don’t relate to the efficiency of Huggies – perhaps we just needed to go up a size, for example. I considered this, and did some internet research.
I was looking for impartial reviews and found myself mummy blogs and mums forums. My pot-luck research seemed to suggest that despite their world domination, Huggies and Pampers are not necessarily as good as you might think. In fact in general, Tesco nappies appeared to get the most votes from informal consumer trials that have been conducted by UK mums up and down the country. I considered using Tesco disposable nappies, but to my knowledge, they aren’t eco-friendly. So I decided to give the eco-friendly disposable nappies a go.
The first ones I decided to try were the Moltex Oko Eco Nappies, which, are said to be as good as leading brands – I hope that’s true!
Before we get into how they performed, let’s look at why you should use them – what are Moltex’s eco-credentials?
Moltex Eco Nappies – What Makes Them So Eco-Friendly?
Features and Benefits
Moltex Eco Nappies Are Compostable
Imagine, a nappy that doesn't take up landfil but simply breaks down into harmless materials
The first thing that attracted me to try these nappies was the fact that they are compostable- in fact you can even put them in a wormery and turn them into excellent garden fertiliser, if you’re so inclined!
I am thinking that if these nappies compost, then as long as I use compostable nappy sacks, I should be able to put these nappies straight into our Green Bins (where the compostable rubbish goes for collection.) I’m going to check with my local authority about that though, before I go recommending it as something we all should do!
Anyway, these nappies have proven to breakdown to make excellent compost within 8 to 10 weeks in a wormery. Now all I need is a wormery…
Moltex Eco Nappies – As effective as leading brands
As I mentioned before, Moltex Eco Nappies have been reported to be at least as effective as leading brands. This is definitely heartening.
Moltex Eco Nappies – Do Not Contain Substances That Are Harmful to People or the Environment
[The following information was taken from and excellent review of Moltex Eco Nappies by The Nappy Tree which you can read in full here.]
“The impact of disposable nappies is directly related to the substances used in the manufacture of the nappy, the amount of resources used, how well the nappy works (how many are needed daily) and the method of disposal.
The Moltex Eco nappy is good news on all of these fronts:
No perfumes, lotions, antioxidants, or TBT, which is much better for sensitive skin.
The synthetic perfumes used in many conventional disposables to combat odour can be harmful to sensitive skin. Ironically, the bleach residues or other chemicals found in many disposables can react with urine, causing odours other than those naturally associated with baby, hence the perfumes.
Synthetic lotions are put into some nappies. These are like oils and are meant to be waterproof, but become rancid over time. Chemical antioxidants are added to lotions to make them stay fresh longer. Moltex Eco nappies have no lotions, and no need for antioxidants, which is better for baby, and better for the environment.
TBT (tributyl tin) is an environmental pollutant with a hormone-like effect. The smallest concentrations of TBT can harm people’s immune systems and impair their hormonal system
(Taken from a report by Greenpeace – 19 May 2000. Full details of the report can be found here.)
Tea leaf extract to reduce odour & irritation
Moltex Eco Nappies use pure natural green tea leaf to help minimise odour, which has also proven very effective in protecting against fungi, viruses and yeast, which can cause nappy rash. It naturally contains cell constructing substances such as vitamins A, B and C which are essential for cell metabolism.
Unbleached wood pulp
Moltexâ??s Eco Nappies are beige in colour as they are manufactured using 50% unbleached wood pulp and 50% ecf ( elementary chlorine free ) bleached wood pulp, reported to be the least polluting type of quality paper available.
100% degradable packaging
Packaging used for Moltexâ??s Eco Nappies is made using 100% degradable maize starch and has perforations for easy re-use as a compost or bin bag.”
Minkaby Eco Product Review: Moltex Oko Eco Nappies – *****
Moltex Biodegradable Eco Nappies
I found these nappies to be excellent – when I was using them there was no leakage, no nappy rash, they stayed on fine and they basically did exactly what they were supposed to do.
To be fair, plenty of regular disposable nappies would do just as well, most at a cheaper price – but that’s just the point – we cannot afford to keep filling the land with poisonous substances that will not break down quickly and safely. Moltex Oko Eco Nappies break down in such a way that they are not only not a pollutant but when composted they actually become a resource – fertiliser!
I am going to test out other eco nappies before fixing on one brand but I am comitted to making our family budget work around a good eco disposbale nappy like this one, so that I can have my convenient disposable nappies without the eco worry.
Are you a mother of a baby or a nappy-wearing toddler?
Would you like to try Moltex Oko Eco Nappies and/or other eco disposables?
If you would be prepared to write a detailed, fair-minded review for www.minkbaby.co.uk, we would be happy to supply you with some eco nappies to try for free.
If you are interested, email ali@minkbaby.co.uk to find out more!
Didn’t know there were eco disposables that wud completely break down. How cool. Wud be useful for when I go out (I use cloth nappies mostly, which is good but can be a pain for days and and hols etc.)
Can I try some of those too?