A man of the cloth

This week is Real Nappy Week, so I thought I'd talk about a pet subject of mine. Regular readers may well have noticed I have a few of these, but bear with me - away from the internet, it's not often that I get a captive audience when talking about green issues.

So, on to the 'Disposable vs 'Cloth nappies' debate.

Actually, it's a little one-sided to call it that. According to estimates, disposables take at least 500 years to start decomposing, use 3.5 times more energy, eight times more non-renewable raw materials, 90 times more renewable materials and cost between £400 and £1,000 more per child.

I think that's pretty conclusive. But there are still some people out there that need persuading, and in my experience (which, as the father of four, is pretty conclusive), that means convincing them of two simple facts - they are not hard work and they do not smell.

A few minutes loading the washing and hanging them out to dry every other day is hardly back breaking labour, and as for the odour, a nappy bin with a tight-fitting lid is absolutely fine.

Add to that the time saved going to the shop or supermarket to buy them in the first place, as well as not having them sit around in your rubbish bags, and I think you've got yourself a pretty good deal overall.

I know they are not right for everyone, but take a minute and think about whether they might actually suit you after all.