Having a new baby can have a significant impact on the environment and your purse strings, however making a few green choices can help. There are a variety of different ways you can save the energy required to look after a new baby (I don’t mean yours!), and they could save you money too.
So what you can do?
Prepare a green nursery
If you’re buying new furniture, try to purchase products made of wood that hasn’t harmed the environment and has been sustainably sourced – look for labels such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC) or other certification schemes[1].
When decorating you baby’s new nursery, try to use paints that have a low impact on the environment such as low VOC (volatile organic compound) and water-based paints. A large quantity of paints, adhesives and varnishes give off VOCs [2], so watch out for these as they can damage the environment by reacting with other chemicals to produce surface level ozone.
Buy second-hand baby items
It is not unusual to find baby items for free. Sites such as Freecycle and Freegle often have items, and this reduces the amount of resources and energy needed to make them from new – as well as saving you money! Friends and family may often have items that their children have outgrown and you can set up an arrangement to pass these on when you no longer need them either. Online auction sites, car boot sales and charity shops often have useful items. Just remember that if you can’t donate or sell your items when you’ve finished with them to find the nearest recycling facilities for them, if possible. As a precaution, there are some baby items that need to be considered carefully before buying second-hand – items such as car seats, shoes and mattresses.
Choose your nappies carefully
There are two options when choosing nappies: disposable and reusable. However, it is not so clear-cut as to which is more environmentally friendly.
Disposable – these are thrown away each time you use them, but you can make them greener by not buying too many in one size as your baby may quickly outgrow them. You can also consider “eco-nappies” that are made from recycled materials and contain fewer chemicals.
Reusable – these are also known as washable, cloth or real nappies and are made from fabric that can be washed and reused many times. Consequently the way you wash them is crucial as this wastes large amounts of energy. Therefore, try to wait for a full load before washing and wash wet nappies at 30 degrees Celsius – soiled nappies need to be washed at 60 degrees in order to kill all harmful bacteria however. Try to dry them on a washing line instead of using a tumble dryer and make sure your appliances are as energy efficient as possible – “A” rated preferably. Reusable nappies can also be bought second-hand and can be passed on or reused for your next child.
Greening your baby’s food
Try to make your baby food out of meals that you are cooking for yourself as it cuts down on the energy and resources required to make the packaging you buy from shops. If you’ve got too much, you could try freezing portions of it in ice cube trays for future use, to avoid wastage. If you do buy ready-made food from the shops, try to recycle all the glass an packaging it comes in, or save it to store any home-made food you make.
Choose green toys
Babies quickly outgrow toys, so many are often only used a few times. There is the option to borrow toys, for a small fee, from a toy library – the National Association of Toy and Leisure Libraries (NATLL) can help you find one. Try to choose toys that don’t need batteries or electricity, such as wind-up toys or wooden bricks – but make sure any wooden toys are produced in a sustainable way. Make sure you donate or sell an unwanted toys as throwing toys away wastes all the resources and energy that went into making them.
[1] http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/HavingABaby/AfterTheBirth/DG_189252
