Judes - the reusable nappy one should know about
4 min read
Let’s talk about the ‘The Great Nappy Debate’. This is what many call the discussion about the topic on ‘to use or not to use reusable nappies’. While the opponents say reusable nappies are unhygienic, time consuming and expensive, the advocates argue exactly the opposite. They believe reusable nappies are as hygienic as disposable ones. Also regarding time consumption there is no great difference. Yes - one has to wash them and hang them up to dry but this is a matter of a few minutes. Compared to actually going to the store to buy disposable ones & taking out the bins full of dirty nappies, one could actually argue disposable ones are more time consuming. When talking about money, reusable diapers are more expensive at the beginning, since one has to buy at least 20. But after that one can actually save up to 1 500€ per child!
I was caught between both sides. Concerned about hygiene but on the other hand wanting to do something good for our planet and kids. This was until I found Judes.
Their clever and modern designed reusable nappies are a great sustainable alternative to disposable ones.
Judes is a family founded start-up by the couple Leon von Klitzing and Nele Schellschmidt from Munich, Germany. In 2020 they welcomed their first child and decided not to use disposable nappies. However finding the right brand wasn’t that easy so they decided to make their own.
Judes customers have already saved 117.00 kg plastic waste in just one year. As reference - until a baby is potty trained it usually uses up to 4000 nappies. That is around one ton of waste per child just through full nappies. Which makes 38.2 kg of plastic wast per child. On the other hand if a child uses reusable nappies they only produce 1.34 kg plastic waste until they are potty trained. Quite a difference, ha? A study published in 2018 by the U.K. Environmental Agency found cloth nappies can reduce a child’s carbon footprint by 40 percent.
reusable nappy washed at 60 degrees, line dried, and passed on to a second child - 60g CO2e per nappy
disposable nappy - 130g CO2e per nappy
We all understand the benefits for our planet. However, how good are reusable nappies for your baby’s bottom? 35% of German babies get a nappy rash at least 1 time during the first year of life. Mostly between the 9th and 12th month after birth. Reusable nappies have been discussed in connection with it, since they are known to be not as absorbent as disposable ones. However, they do not contain plastic, which can irritate the sensitive baby skin. Even so, one has to say, frequent nappy changing is key to prevent a nappy rash, no matter what kind of diaper you use.
Nevertheless, this was before Judes came onto the market. Judes unique weave technique enables the fabric to be extremely absorbable yet slim and close-fitting. Through advertising we get the impression that diapers have to have a ‘non wet’ feeling to prevent waking up in the night or making the baby feel uncomfortable. Until recently I also thought this was true but after having a conversation with Judes Co-founder, Leon von Klitzing, my point of view has changed. In our chat Leon encouraged me to think of it this way: Is it actually physiological and psychological normal that a baby doesn’t notice that it has done a pee because disposable diapers absorb the fluid straight away? That statement made me think - how can a child know and learn how to act if it doesn’t feel the consequences after it has peed? In the 1950s up to 95% of babies were potty trained by 18 months of age. Today it is only 10%. But why? The first prototype of disposable diaper was invented in 1946, so most parents still used cloth diapers and therefore it can be assumed that children who wear cloth diapers are potty trained quicker, since they actually feel the outcome of peeing in their pants and understand what it means.
Now let’s talk about money. When buying the most well-known disposable diaper brand, one can roughly expect to spend 3000€ for 4000 diapers. This is approximately how many diapers a child will use up to the age of two. Judes offers different sets to provide the customer from trying out to exclusively using reusable diapers. What makes this brand so special, is that they actually found a way to make cloth diapers as hygienic and easy to use as disposable ones. The trick is ‘poo paper’. Leon and Nele designed a fleece which separates the poo from the pee and can just be thrown in the bin. All their products are produced in Europe and under fair and ethical conditions - which makes them all in all a sustainable and innovative company.