For such small beings, babies sure do create a lot of waste! After emerging from the haze of having a newborn, I started looking at ways that I could reduce our environmental impact.
Here are 10 easy eco-friendly baby product swaps that you could try:
- Cloth or biodegradable nappies. Since Miss K was about 3 months old until very recently, we’ve mainly been using cloth nappies. I have about 30 cloth nappies with boosters and bamboo liners. It was a bit daunting at first but it quickly became routine. If cloth nappies aren’t your thing, there are a growing number of biodegradable nappies now on the market.
- Cloth or biodegradable wipes. After tackling cloth nappies, it made sense to start using cloth wipes. You can easily make your own but it was far quicker and easier for me to buy a bunch of baby facial cloths to use as wipes. Every 1-2 days, I’ll wet a bunch of cloths in a container to use. You can also purchase biodegradable wipes.
- Glass milk bottles. Glass milk bottles are a great alternative to plastic bottles. Their also easier to clean and last longer. We bought a combination pack of glass bottles from Cherub Baby and plan to use them for baby #2.
- Reusable milk pouches and containers. To maintain and increase my milk supply, I pumped a lot. Any excess was placed into reusable milk pouches and containers. The milk pouches were purchased from Cherub Baby and the containers from Avent. Both are great but I prefer the containers as they have accurate volume readings and are great little containers for food and other items later on.
- Reusable food pouches. While at a baby expo, I bought a starter pack of food pouches from Zestio. Their a great alternative to store bought pouches as they usually can’t be recycled. While you can put any sort of liquid in there, I mainly use mine to prep and freeze large batches of soup – usually pumpkin soup! Zestio also provide heaps of great recipe ideas and they’d be great to bring out and about.
- Bamboo dinnerware and utensils. Since Miss K has started eating I’ve tried so many different types of dinnerware and utensils – silicone, wooden and plastic. My favourite purchase to date has been her bamboo dinnerware set from Love Mae. Their all so beautifully designed and are also dishwasher safe and BPA free.
- 100% Cotton or bamboo clothes. As Miss K is prone to eczema flare ups, I only purchase 100% cotton clothes for her sensitive skin. I’ve heard great things about bamboo clothes, but I haven’t found these readily available for purchase. The added benefits of 100% cotton or bamboo clothes is their reduced impact on the environment. Natural fibres are less likely to produce microplastics when washed compared to synthetic fibres.
- Cloth swimming nappies. Although we haven’t had the chance to use it yet, Miss K has the cutest pair of pink flamingo swimming nappies from Bambino Mio to use when the weather warms up! Their a great alternative to disposable swimming nappies and can be tossed in the wash to be reused again and again!
- Organic bubble bath. Miss K loves her bubble baths! Their a great sensory experience and puts her in a good mood before bedtime. Due to her sensitive eczema prone skin, we use Childs Farm Bubble Bath for Sensitive Skin. It has a lovely tangerine scent and leaves her skin feeling moisturised and rash free.
- Purchase second hand items. I love op shopping and ever since having Miss K, I’m always on the lookout for second hand clothes, toys and books for her. It’s trickier finding suitable clothes but I’ve purchased some good quality toys, books and even a coffee table for her from our local op shop. While there are some baby items that should be bought brand new, there are some things that can be bought pre-loved!
While I try to be as eco-friendly as possible, I just wanted to say that there are days when I’m exhausted, frazzled, or haven’t done the mountain of laundry that comes with using cloth products – and I’ll use disposable nappies, wipes and feed Miss K a pre-made frozen meal from the store. And that’s totally okay!
As mum’s we’re all doing the best that we can and we’re all on our own journey. I hope this list inspires you to try a few things and I would love to hear any other ideas that you have!
Marie xo