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Nappy fabrics
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Natural or synthetic fibers? which materials are absorbent? You will find below all relevant information to choose fabrics for your cloth nappies.
Natural materials:
Cotton: is particularly susceptible to pests and disease, the production requires heavy use of pesticides. (I opted for the organic cotton because it is better for the environment.)
- Cotton is easy to wash and dye.
- Strong and durable
- Cotton is hypoallergenic and does not irritate skin.
- Cotton is absorbent and removes liquid from the skin.
Bamboo: is environmentally friendly!
- Strong bactericidal and fungicidal properties.
- Bamboo is very absorbent. (more absorbent than cotton fabric)
- It dries very slowly.
Hemp: Hemp is one of the purest plants on Earth.
- Hemp fabric is stronger, more durable and more absorbent than cotton fabric.
- It also has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties.
- It is grown without pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers and other chemicals.
- It dries more slowly than cotton and bamboo.
Wool: is ideal for baby’s sensitive skin or suffering from erythema.
-Wool is naturally watertight.
- Allows plenty of air to circulate.
- it does require special care (wool shampoo) you will need to lanolise every 2 or 3 weeks.
Tencel: is an eco friendly fabric! Made from the natural cellulose found in wood pulp, the tencel is fully biodegradable.
- Soft, light and comfortable.
- It is stronger than cotton and more durable than polyester.
- Tencel absorbs 50% more moisture than cotton.
Synthetic materials:
Polar or microfleece: is a synthetic fabric made from Polyethylene terephthalate (PET). It can be made out of recycled PET bottles
- Microfleece is a soft, lightweight, warm and comfortable fabric.
- It is hydrophobic ( it wicks moisture away and keeps baby dry.)
Suede cloth: is a 100% polyester fabric that works similar to microfleece.
- It is hydrophobic ( it wicks moisture away and keeps baby dry.)
- it resists stains better than any other materials.
Microfiber: is a very thin synthetic faber made from polyesters and polyamides.
- It is breathable and absorbs very quickly.
- It dries very quickly.
Polyurethane Laminate, or PUL: is a waterproof and breathable fabric.
- PUL is perfect for nappy covers and AI1/AI2 or Pocket nappy outers.
Minky: is a plush, microfiber fabric.
- It is incredibly soft and smooth to the touch.
Why use cloth?
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Cloth can save you money
Even if from the start the investment is important, cloth nappies are more economical than disposable ones. Even taking into account washing costs, you could save hundreds of pounds by using cloth nappies rather than disposables. The more children you plan to have, the more you will save, cloth nappies can be used again and again.
Cloth is better for the environment
At the moment, about 8 million disposable nappies are thrown away every day in the UK. The average baby will use more than 6,000 disposable nappies before potty, disposable nappies take 300-400 years to fully decompose.
By choosing cloth nappies, you could reduce your household rubbish by half.
Cloth is better for your baby’s health
By choosing cloth nappies, you are helping to protect your baby’s skin from harmful chemicals. (Sodium polyacrylate, chlorine, plastics, adhesives……)
Cloth may help with toilet training
Toddlers in cloth nappies appear to be toilet trained earlier than those wearing disposable nappies. This may be because they become aware of when they have wet, as the moisture is not whisked away as quickly as by a disposable nappy.
