The new Gently biodegradable nappy

When it comes to nappies, there are disposable nappies on one end of the spectrum and reusable cloth nappies on the other. Now there is an alternative with Gently Nappy – a biodegradable nappy made with bamboo fibre.

Current statistics claim that Australia’s 2.1 billion disposable nappies that are sent to landfill each year will take up to 500 year to break down. That’s an alarming situation in anyone’s books and something that clearly has to change.

This change could now be in the shape of this new biodegradable nappy that has just come onto the market, the Gently Nappy. These nappies break down in about two months according to tests run by Lismore City Council. Made from bamboo in China, Gently is designed in Australia and is an Australian business (with some shareholders in the US).

Creator of the Gently biodegradable nappy , Sean Richardson, explains his motivation to come up with this biodegradable nappy, “We started Gently because we could see the massive issue that disposable nappies were creating,” Simon explains. “We contributed to it with our three kids – feeling guilty every nappy change. We also felt there were no alternatives that offered the convenience and affordability that people were looking for.”

Lismore City Council in NSW has approved the disposable nappy through their Green Waste programme, albeit with a caveat. To dispose of Gently nappies consumers have to register with the council as part of their waste programme. Those that register are issued with a sticker that they then put on their green waste garbage can. Without the stickers the nappies will not be processed through the council waste system.

Gently Nappies were also produced as cost effectively as possible with the cost coming in at around 25 cents per nappy. Creator, Sean explains, “Nappies account for 25% of all costs associated with babies in Australia. It is a really important first step towards an easy-to-use zero waste nappy solution, which is also affordable for the average person,” Sean said.

Retailed in Byron Bay and Lismore, Jannine Barron from Nature’s Child says, “The Gently Nappy is what I refer to as a Hybrid Nappy. It has a cover and a biodegradable insert,” explains Jannine. “It’s not exclusively cloth or disposable only, it can be used as both. The Gently Nappy is a nappy for our times. A biodegradable throw away section that can be used over disposable or cloth nappies.

“Some parents buy the inserts only and place it in their cloth nappies at night or on long trips for extra absorbency. Its simple, we have to make it easy and cost effective for parents or they won’t make the change to organic and eco-friendly,” says Jannine.

For more info on Gently Nappies checkout their website.