We were curious to see if you use reusable nappies, disposables, or a mixture of both. So we launched our Real Nappy Habits survey to find out, and over 700 of you responded.
Families love reusable nappies for their sustainability credentials, but it turns out that many of you use disposables too. Our survey results are in, so let's take a closer look and see what role disposable nappies play in your household?
- An overwhelming 97% of you have used disposable nappies with your little one at some point. Only 3% have never used disposables.
- Here are the situations where you use/used disposable nappies most often:
- In the newborn phase (80%)
- Overnight (73%)
- When travelling (60%)
- With other carers e.g. grandparents / babysitters (28%)
- When baby is sick (20%)
- At daycare (19%)
- When running errands (17%)
- For naps (13%)
- Right now, 85% of you use a mixture of both cloth and disposable nappies. 6% of you only use disposables, and 9% of you only use cloth.
- 58% of you use disposables regularly (a few times a week or more).
What made you decide to use disposables instead of reusable nappies? Many of you were navigating the newborn phase, while others simply got behind on laundry day! Here are some of your reasons for choosing disposable nappies:
“No washing with a newborn felt much easier.”
“Felt overwhelmed as a new parent.”
“Have not invested in dedicated night nappies yet.”
“During the meconium phase to avoid staining nappies.”
“When travelling, I don’t want to carry around dirty diapers or deal with laundering them.”
“Our daughter was too small when newborn to fit into the cloth nappies. Once she weighed enough, we switched to cloth.”
“More convenient when travelling without regular access to a washing machine.”
“We use a disposable for the first sleep cycle since that's her long stretch of sleep. The disposable keeps her bum dry for longer and doesn't wake her up.”
“Getting used to ‘mum life’ and doing cloth part-time while we built our stash.”
“Overnight I was scared of leaks and baby waking.”
“Sometimes I’m just being lazy and don’t want the washing.“
Thank you for your candid responses. We're all navigating this ever-changing parenting journey as best we can; disposable nappies will be the right choice sometimes (and that's totally ok).
While we’ll always be advocates for reusable nappies, it’s clear that disposable nappies play a role in your busy lives. With this newfound knowledge, we're proud to welcome an eco-friendly disposable to the EcoNaps family…