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Conclusions & The Future

It must be accepted that both types of nappy will have an impact on our environment.

Disposable nappies have become a huge marketing success story in the last 20 years, developing alongside the throw away culture of the nineties.They publicise research which shows them in a more favourable light and it would be naive to expect this to be any different in the foreseeable future.


The declining birth-rate in the west has put further economic pressure on the disposable nappy companies and the Nappy Information Service (NIS)(1) represents the main UK disposable nappy companies, This organisation has spent a lot of time and money targeting the legitimacy of the main reusable nappy voice in this country; the Womens Environmental Network.(12) There has been a number of ASA rulings brought by the WEN and the NIS about the data and wording of each others literature.


Local councils and the national government need to address the marketing and publicity that is given to new parents, with disposable nappy samples are given away in hospital Bounty Packs. (13) These provide financial support to the hospital.


Local Authorities are starting to appreciate the financial benefits of converting their constituents to cloth nappies. Many are now offering a subsidy or grant to help with the purchase of nappies. A list of the participating areas is below:


Kent County Council : East Staffordshire Borough : Camden Council

Council Norfolk County : Council East Sussex : County Council

Essex County Council : Three Rivers District Council : Harrow Council

Oxfordshire County Council : East Renfrewshire Council : Wrekin Borough Council

Hertfordshire County Council : West Sussex County Council

Aberdeen City Council : Leicestershire County Council

Edinburgh Real Nappy Project : Warwickshire County Council

Suffolk County Council : Cheshire County Council Telford


Cloth nappy users are in control of how much impact they have on their environment.



They can reduce impact by:

  • Line Drying, not tumble drying where possible
  • Washing in warm not hot water. Germs are killed at 60 degrees C
  • Using less detergent and more vinegar and bicarbonate of Soda
  • Buying organic and/or second hand nappies
  • Selling or donating old nappies

Disposable Nappy Users

Disposable nappy users could consider the impact they are causing the landfill sites and possibly switch to more biodegradable nappies (15). They could also consider combining cloth and disposable nappies.


I hope that once parents are informed they can make the choices that are best for themselves, their babies and their environment. It would be niave and simplistic of me to assume that all parents will make the best choice for the environment, so the uptake to local authority encouragement is important at least until habits are formed. Noone knows what the future holds but many scientists and environmentalists are saying that if human beings wish to continue to live on this planet, the attitudes towards how we treat it need to change. This includes recycling, reusing and working with, not against our environment.



Conclusions and the Future