A mother of two boys aged four and one, Joanne Moore made the decision in her first pregnancy to raise her family in the most sustainable way she could manage. “I believe we all share responsibility for our planet,” she says. Single-use plastics, harsh detergents and disposable nappies were out, replaced by eco-friendly alternatives. But Joanne is conscious too of sustainability’s reputation – especially when it comes to parenting – as being only for the privileged. “Buying everything new when you have a baby is incredibly expensive,” she says. “Second-hand clothes and swap groups on Facebook are my secret.” With this in mind, read on for Joanne’s tips for parenting more sustainably – and affordably.
Address the nappy situation
From birth to potty training, the average baby will get through an eye-watering 6,000 nappies. Multiply that by the number of infants in the UK, and that’s roughly 3 billion nappies sent direct to landfill ever year. Cloth and bio-degradable nappies are the two main eco-friendly options here. Of course, cloth nappies means more washing, which in turn means a higher amount of energy consumed, and a higher volume of detergent-filled water flowing down the sewers. “I have 15 daytime cloth nappies on rotation, and know I need to put a nappy wash on every other day,” explains Joanne. “The energy consumption question is a tricky one. Three years ago, I bought an Eco Egg, (an eco-friendly ball that sits in the wash tub, replacing the need for detergent) which is still going strong now, so I know the water regularly leaving my household isn’t filled with chemicals.” The Eco Egg works on a cold wash cycle, too, meaning only nappies and other items that need sterilising require a hot wash.
Will it blend?
The market for ready-made organic baby food is exploding – just check the dedicated shelves in your local WholeFoods. But, this isn’t necessarily the only option. Joanne herself prefers to take it back to basics. “When I’m feeding myself and my husband already, plus my four year old, buying separate baby food isn’t financially viable for me. Instead, I cook stripped-back meals with less spice and less salt, and blend it up for the baby.” Simple. Raising vegetarian children is one of the most hotly contested topics on the parenting landscape. “There’s not enough research yet to confirm whether vegetarian or even vegan diets are safe for children. At the moment, the NHS advises to the millilitre how much milk children should have, and that it should be cow’s milk,” says Joanne. “Also, I don’t want my children to go to nursery and be told they can’t have their friend’s birthday cake at an age when they don’t understand.”
Join a local clothes swap group
The problems with fashion fashion extend to parenting on an even more accelerated level, with children’s clothes lasting just a few weeks. “Clothes swap groups are brilliant. I’m a member of a local parents’ Facebook group, where there are over 11,000 parents swapping and selling baby clothes,” says Joanne. “And, we pass clothes around the family. There are some outfits that are now on their sixth child.”
Investigate natural skincare
“With very young babies, you’re changing their nappy so many times in a day, and slapping on nappy cream at every moment – it makes sense to use the most natural products available.” Joanne’s favourite brands include Burt’s Bees and Weleda, which leave her children’s skin as soft as, well, a baby’s bottom. “I also want to educate my children in the use of vegan cosmetics, and what animal testing means,” adds Joanne.
Make birthday parties as eco-friendly as possible
“My husband and I always try and host an eco-friendly birthday party. So often at children’s parties, the end of the afternoon means three bin liners in the corner of the room filled with plastic cups,” says Joanne. Her best advice? Don’t stock up on disposable crockery you don’t need. “We try to just make the most of what we already have in our kitchen, and, as ever, keep on washing!” Plastic toys that get swallowed by the hoover days later are out, too. “For party bags, we give each of the children a book to take home – we pick them up from shops like The Works for as little as a pound.”
The money question
The elephant in the room when it comes to sustainable parenting is obvious: money. It’s one Joanne is especially aware of. Being a sustainable parent shouldn’t just be for the privileged, but frustratingly, some elements are still too costly to be practical for the average family. “Sadly, sustainable options for babies and parents aren’t in high enough demand to drive costs down,” says Joanne. For her, what’s needed is for more parents to be vocal about wanting to be more sustainable, for everyone to take ownership of changes they can make within their own household, and, perhaps most crucially – the need for more education on a topic that affects us all.
