Cloth Nappies

Nappy Choices

Waitakere City Council sees parenting as one of humanity's most important roles. The Council supports parents to have choices in parenting, particularly in terms of convenience in today's busy lifestyle and in terms of impacts on the environment.

Choices relating to nappies are an important part of parenting. Disposable nappies are convenient, but create landfill waste, use energy through their manufacture and freight and create costs for parents through purchase costs and greater volumes of refuse for kerbside collection. Some manufacturers have initiated environmental programmes to reduce these impacts.

Cloth nappies also have a purchase or hire cost, but their use reduces volumes of landfill waste. They can also be used for subsequent children. On the flipside, depending on how parents wash and dry cloth nappies, their use can create significant energy usage and the discharge of detergents into the wastewater system.

However, cloth nappies provide parents the ability to make choices about laundry methods and energy use. Council also believes parents should have choices in how they impact on the environment through the actions that are best for their babies.

For these reasons Council supports parents having access to both cloth and disposable nappies. Council works with community groups to advertise the availability of cloth nappies for hire. Council is also beginning to work with disposable nappy manufacturers to look at how the environmental performance of their products can be improved.

For more information on the various types of cloth nappies available and how to use, please look at the New Zealand Nappy Alliance website.

An article about choosing cloth nappies appeared in good magazine, view the article below.

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Babies' bums (Size 371K)

Cloth Nappy Trail Packs at Waitakere Hospital

On 2 April 2008 till 30 June 2008 Waitakere City Council teamed up with West Auckland Health Services Foundation giving away modern cloth nappy packs. Mums received a pack of four changes worth of nappies when they left the Waitakere Maternity Ward with their new baby, valued at $60. During this trial period the Waitakere Maternity Ward also used cloth nappies.

Waitakere City Council and West Auckland Health Services Foundation proudly support the parents of Waitakere to make an informed choice when it comes to what type of nappy they prefer to use on their baby. With today's busy lifestyle convenience and practicality are important factors for parents. That is why these packs were created, to show that cloth nappies are cheaper in the long run, to lift myths that cloth nappies are time consuming and a thing of the past. Modern cloth nappies come in a range of colours, styles and materials and they are easy to use.

The suppliers behind the trial were Real Nappies, Honey Child, Snazzipants and Nappy Days.

From these packs, parents can make informed choices on what they prefer to use on their baby. Providing modern cloth nappies packs, parents can take into account the cost related to both disposable and cloth nappies and the impacts to the environment that each have.

View the NZ Herald article.

Cloth Nappies for Hire

Waitakere City parents and caregivers are able to trial various types of cloth nappies which are currently available in New Zealand.

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Cloth Nappy Hire Kits (Size 1004K)
These are available in three sizes (newborn/small, medium, large) for a 7-week trial period.

There are three basic types, prefolds - a modern version of the old flat nappy with extra layers for absorbency; fitted nappies - with fitted legs and waist; and pocket nappies - which incorporate a waterproof cover and a stay-dry liner sewn together.

Each hire kit also contains a range of covers, boosters and inserts. There are 12 reusable liners that come with each kit that are yours to keep. Kits cost $60 (plus a $40 bond) for a 7-week hire period.

Please note that the Waitakere City Cloth Nappy Hire Kit is available to Waitakere City parents and caregivers only.

NEW Cloth Nappy Know How classes for Hire Kits and Cloth Nappy Trial Packs

The new Cloth Nappy Know How classes hosted by New Zealand Nappy Alliance will inform parents with all they need to know about modern cloth nappies. The classes are designed to inform parents who are planning on using the Cloth Nappy Kits or who would like to purchase the Cloth Nappy Trail Packs which are $15 for a pack containing $70 worth of nappies from the New Zealand Nappy Alliance members.

The Cloth Nappy Know How classes will cover:

• The 5 Main nappy options available to parents today – Disposables, Pre-folds with covers, Pocket nappies, Fitted nappies with covers and All in Ones.
• Liners and boosters – what are they and why would you use one
• Fabrics – what modern nappy fabrics are available today?
• How to choose your nappies – Which one will be suitable for your baby
• Washing your nappies – no different to washing your cloths

The centres Cloth Nappy Know How classes which are held on the second Friday 7pm - 8 30pm and Saturday 1pm - 2 30pm of bimonthly.

The dates for 2009 are:

10 and 11 July
11 and 12 September
13 and 14 November

Interested parents or caregivers can phone the Council's 24hr Call Centre to make a booking with The Cloth Nappy Education Centre.

Waitakere residents that attend these classes are requested to bring an addressed letter along to show they live within the City. Non-Waitakere residents are welcome to attend the classes; however, priority will be given to hire kit users and cloth nappy trial packs.

Cloth Nappies Education Centre

The Council is sponsoring a Cloth Nappy Education Centre from mid March 2007. Situated at 601 Te Atatu Road, Te Atatu Peninsula, the centre is open from 9.00am to midday, three days a week (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday).

The centre also has free "Cloth Nappy Know How" classes which are held on the first Wednesday of each month from 7.30pm to 9.00pm. Interested parents or caregivers can phone the Council's 24hr Call Centre to make a booking (tel. 839 0400).

Non-Waitakere residents are welcome to attend the classes; however, priority will be given to hire kit users.

Book online with our electronic form or download the following pdf.

Note: You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer in order to view and print this document.  For help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful Tips.

Cloth Nappy Hire Booking Form (Size 61K).