Eco Tots Bots...
Published on Wednesday 21st March 2007
 My 17-month-old daughter has developed a swagger-waddle, (some sort of cross between John Wayne and Donald Duck) while my husband is quietly seething about my latest unilateral decision. Because, after months of flirting with the idea, we’ve ditched the gel-balled disposable nappies entirely and have gone properly green.
In place of a slim disposable with the in-built power to expand (that’s the gel balls), my daughter now has a cloth nappy plus booster plus nappy wrapper. And where once there stood a nappy wrapper full of disposables waiting to fill some gap in our green and pleasant land, there’s now a bucket brimful of cloth nappies waiting for some sucker with a pegged nose to put them on a 60° wash.
As I said, my husband is seething because reusable nappies are bloody hard work. He might not have to wash, dry and fold the buggers but he still has to grapple with the liners, change our daughter from head to foot when they fail to pass the overnight test and power-shower off the debris when the said liner doesn’t do its job.
However, there’s a certain satisfaction from knowing you’re trying to do your bit and there’s also the added bonus of how cute they look. These days that old image of terry squares secured with nappy pins is being replaced by funky design and pretty detail.
Take Scottish-based company Tots Bots  . The nappies themselves - made from cotton or bamboo - come in a range of cute colours while the wraps are enough to make you want another baby (well almost). Their website is pretty smart too, which always makes online shopping that bit more fun.
And although Cotton Bottoms nappy pads won’t win any awards for their aesthetics, given that they resemble industrial tea-towels, the print design of the wraps - and the way the pad slots into the wrap, cleverly limiting upwards leakage - makes up for this.
While you’re at it it’s also worth checking out Green Baby , as they stock a whole range of reusables, including Imse Vimse, with some equally attractive wraps.
But remember, if you’re going to suffer all that hard work in order to do your bit, be sure to check where your nappies are made and where they’re being shipped from. If their carbon footprint runs from Canada to the UK via China before you’ve even started clocking up all that extra electricity, maybe you’re not going to make that much of a difference after all.
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