February 25, 2008 at 9:52 pm
· Filed under Baby
Inspite of the oxymoronic title, Nature Babycare is an environmentally savvy disposable diaper. It boasts the convenience of a disposable without all of the gross plastic and its many associated ills. Nature Babycare was developed by a Swedish mom, who sought to create a diaper with a low environmental impact, but with the ease of a disposable diaper. The end product is a simple, yet ingenious solution.
The outer plastic-like layer is made of a compostable/biodegradable corn Bio film. The corn Bio film is composed of cornstarch and biodegradable polyester. The corn used in the diaper is 100% non-genetically modified. The inner tissue is composed of natural tree pulp. The tree pulp is TCF (totally chlorine free). The ink used for printing the whimsical design on the diaper is free of heavy metals. Even the packaging material is made of 100% non-genetically modified compostable material. Traditional plastic disposable diapers are composed of petroleum based plastic, whereas with the Nature Babycare diaper, 60% of the content is of biological origin and is biodegradable. These diapers have multiple certifications by OK compost, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, and FSC(Forest Stewardship Council) .
I was intently awaiting the arrival of our first pack of Nature Babycare diapers. The first thing I noticed was the texture: smooth, but not plasticy…kind of papery. Unmistakably different from Huggies, Pampers, and Seventh generation diapers. Aside from the texture, the fit and method of application were identical to any other disposable diaper. The performance was outstanding: no leaks, no mess.
I was elated: this was a masterfully designed green disposable diaper. Conventional plastic disposable diapers with their 250 year half-life are not a viable option. In our busy lives, time is a non-renewable resource. To not have to spend precious moments washing soiled clothes, liners, or diapers and to instead spend that time playing with my clean and happy wee one is invaluable.
What is the financial cost? At Diapers.com:
| Brand |
Number of Newborn Diapers |
Price(in U.S. dollars) |
| Pampers |
40 |
9.59 |
| Huggies |
40 |
9.99 |
| 7th Generation |
40 |
10.39 |
| Nature Babycare |
44 |
11.99 |
| gDiaper |
40 |
14.49 |
I’ll admit, I am smitten by the Nature Babycare diaper. With our ever- increasing need for environmental responsibility, it is a brilliant innovation. Two other eco-friendly diapers worth mentioning are Nature Boy and Girl and Ecobaby. Nature Boy and Girl is based in the U.S. and uses a similar corn-based material based on the Swedish invention. Nature Boy and Girl is more costly, 15.99$ for a newborn pack of 48 diapers. I have had no experience with this particular brand, and the website provides limited information on the product. Ecobaby is from Ireland and the Eco-nappy also uses a biodegradable plant-based material on the outside and unbleached wood pulp in the inner tissue. Ecobaby nappies are sold primarily in Ireland.
P.S. I have tried to contact Nature Babycare Diaper to clarify the biodegradable content: The website reports both 100% and 60%. I have not yet received a reply to my query.
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mamatang wrote @ April 24th, 2008 at 10:30 am
Thanks for all the great info!
neelam wrote @ April 24th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Hi mamatang,
Thank you for visiting the site and for taking the time to comment. Having had a baby, I have been inspired to share my tales. I have many baby related posts to come.
Best,
Neelam
Jennifer wrote @ May 4th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
My friend let me use a couple of her’s that she had ordered and they were fantastic. I love them even more after reading this information. Finally, something I don’t have to feel guilty about!
I cannot tell you how much I love these diapers. My youngest is the most hydrated baby on earth and can saturate a convential diaper, even huggies, in just a few hours. Seriously - we had her nakey bum for a rash with her BabyLegs on the other day and within an hour I had to wipe up 3 puddles and change her leg warmers each time. Every other diaper we used prior to these would leak wet out the front when I got her in the morning and because she tends to poo before I wake up in the morning, we’d blow out the backside.
I found these diapers while researching greener alternatives for my site and am completely and utterly in love. Pretty sad when the most excitement I’ve had this year was finding these diapers!
At any rate - I can tell you that they are compostable - we’ve got them in our composting bin and everything but the tabs seems to truly biodegrade. If you choose to compost, don’t compost the poopy ones!!! And although they do seem to have that funky gel stuff in the core to help absorbancy - it’s the lowest amount I have ever seen. There hasn’t been drop of that creepy gel stuff on my babies hiney - no matter how we that diaper gets.
They also make compostable diaper bags (which we use for dog poo, kitchen scraps as well as dirty diapers. And their wipes ROCK! They are new to the US, so you should start seeing them available at more stores this year. Right now you can find them at http://coolerchoices.com and diapers.com.
Enjoy!
neelam wrote @ May 26th, 2008 at 9:09 am
Hi Stashka,
Thank you for visiting and for sharing your findings. That’s great to know that they are biodegradable. I love babylegs leg warmers as well, and I can truly appreciate your excitement over finding these diapers. I had tried the gDiapers first and was underimpressed I was elated to find the nature babycare diapers. I love the coolerchoices website.
Neelam
neelam wrote @ May 26th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Hi Jennifer,
I could not agree with you more, when I found out about these diapers, I too was thrilled. Finally, I did not have to carry the weight of an extra large eco footprint with the usual huggies and pampers.
Neelam
Ashley wrote @ June 4th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
I am in love with these diapers too. I actually get them for the price of pampers at Target, but they are not carried at every Target, and are on an endcap, not in the diaper aisle, I love that they are biodegradable and especially love that they are the most absorbant diapers around. I also love the fact that they are thin and don’t have cartoons all over them. A biggie for me is that they do not contain petroleum like all the rest. Those 7th Generation diapers they carry at Whole Foods aren’t biodegradable–I wish Whole Foods carried Nature Baby care! Have you tried their wipes? Love them too!
neelam wrote @ June 4th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Hey Ashley,
I sincerely share your love for nature babycare.The average disposable diaper contains one cup of oil. It is thrilling to know that there is no petroleum products in the diaper. I wish that all Targets would carry nature babycare; I have asked our local organic cleaners store to stock them, and I am writing to our nearest whole foods to see if they can order them. One concern, however, is the gel that sometimes leaks out.
Thanks for your comments,
Neelam
Robyn wrote @ June 24th, 2008 at 7:38 am
I love these too. Their wipes are great too.
Zebulen wrote @ July 15th, 2008 at 7:27 am
I enjoy your blog. We use these diapers almost exclusively and think they are wonderful. Our daughter likes them too! They are priced competively with all of the leading oil-based disposable brands. These diapers really are a win-win alternative; both functional and biodegradable! Since Target stopped carrying them, we order them in bulk through Diapers.com and make use of their free shipping offer.
neelam wrote @ July 15th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Hey Zebulen,
Thank you for checking out the blog and for your fantastic feedback, I am thinking of asking our local organic food/baby mart to carry these diapers. I, too, am in love with them.
Neelam
Eli wrote @ July 22nd, 2008 at 9:40 am
I love these nappies too but find them really difficult to get in Co.Cork Ireland, there seems to be only one outlet stocking them and they are constantly out of stock or unavailable, it’s really frustrating. Lots of my friends want to use them on their babies too, if anyone knows of where else we can get them we’d love to know.
grace wrote @ August 25th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Thanks for showing all the posts. I’m starting research now for our baby due in December and find all the feedback useful in making my argument to “go green” to my partner. Especially helpful to know that the cost (his big concern) is comparable to conventional diapers. Thanks again.
neelam wrote @ August 26th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Hi Grace,
Thank you for checking out the website. I love the nature babycare diapers, and could not recommend them enough. I don’t think you will be disappointed.
Best,
Neelam
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