slow flowing waterfall
Sustainability

Protecting our environment for future generations

The use of nappies has a considerable impact on our environment. Every day we use almost 4 million disposable nappies in Australia and New Zealand alone (1). Nappies take up to 500 years to break down (2), meaning the first nappy ever produced in 1947 is still sat in landfill.

Our mission is to make reusable cloth nappies the norm for modern families to help protect the environment for the future generation.

Dr Amanda Hansson

Environmental Scientist

"One of the greatest threats our planet faces today is the consumption of non-renewable resources at rates not considered sustainable. Disposable diapers contribute significantly and makeup 2% of all waste in landfills in the US, for example. However, it doesn't have to be this way. Reusable products, such as cloth nappies, can have significant benefits to the environment and tend to be cheaper at the same time. Swapping to reusable cloth nappies is a win-win situation."

Amanda Hansson Environmental Scientist Photo
close up of two cloth nappies, one white and the other blue
The lifecycle of nappies

One child uses around 6,000 nappies

A lot goes into the production, use, and disposal of nappies, including waste, water and carbon emission. One child uses around 6,000 nappies which equates to 170kg - 250kg of waste going to landfill, compare this to cloth nappies, which only contributes 2.5kg - 7kg of waste.

water droplet on thin tree branch

Disposable nappies use significant amounts of water

There is no hiding that reusable cloth nappies generate washing. However, you may be surprised to learn that disposable nappies use pretty significant amounts of water during production and contribute to increased runoff inforests (3). You can also do several things to minimise water consumption in your home, such as using a water-efficient, front-loading washing machine.

washing machine

Reusable cloth nappies use less non-renewable energy

Modern cloth nappies use a lot less energy overall compared to disposables, which use the highly energy intensive process of pulp production. By switching to cloth, you can reduce the energy requirement by up to 6 times (3)! To help lower carbon emissions, you can wash in an energy-efficient washing machine, avoid tumble drying, only wash when you have a full load, don't wash warmer than you must, and use renewable energy whenever possible. Finally, you can reduce the volume of washing by reusing your NappyLuxe cover and just changing out the inserts when wet.

Stack of black hero mailer bgs with a cloth nappy and hang tag placed on top
Sustainably Packaged

Home-Compostable & Recycled Materials

Orders are shipped in reusable certified home-compostable mailers made from cornstarch. Hang tags are made from 100% recycled paper along with our tissue paper.

1. Sustainability Victoria. 2022. Eco-Friendlier alternatives to disposable nappies.
2. Lee M (2014-01-28 00:15:43). Disposable Nappies: Are They Stinking Up Our Planet? Australian Science. Retrieved: Feb 20, 202.
3. O’Brien, K.R., Olive, R., Hsu, Y.C., Morris, L., Bell, R., and Kendall, N. 2009. Life Cycle Assessment: Reusable and disposable nappies in Australia. 6th Australian Conference on Life Cycle Assessment, Melbourne