Cut from the same cloth: Annette and Lauren Ivory run an eco baby product business, with moral support from Lila Davis, 3. Photo: Megan Fisher
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Mention reusable nappies to parents of now-adult children and they’ll recall a formidable stack of white cloths, terrifyingly large safety pins and hours spent boiling, hanging and folding.
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But when Lauren Ivory embarked on her cloth nappy mission, her mother, Annette, could barely recognise the cute, easy-to-clean options available today.
After a bit of trial and error, Lauren learned which brands fit her now three-year-old daughter Lila’s body best — reusable nappies are certainly not a one-size-fits-all scenario, and the consequences are messy at best when they’re not nice and snug.
She wished there was a service that allowed her to try different brands of cloth nappies before investing in a full set.
So Lauren and Annette decided to build that business, and Cloth Journey was born in Kialla.
Annette handles all the washing and preparing bundles of nappies for hire at her place, while Lauren runs the website and digital admin.
“We have about 14 brands that people can hire so they can try them and work out what works for them,” Lauren said.
“If they like any of them they can purchase them at a discounted price, and if they don’t like any of them they can just post them back.”
Although Cloth Journey posts orders all over Australia, Goulburn Valley customers have the advantage of avoiding the cost of postage.
Lauren says there are still plenty of myths to be busted about cloth nappies, despite their growing popularity.
First, although the up-front cost is not insignificant, Lauren says using cloth nappies is more affordable than buying disposables for three or so years.
Prints galore: Parents who cotton on to the appeal of cloth nappies can become addicted to collecting eye-catching prints.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
“I chose cloth nappies for two reasons really — the environmental reasons because there’s a lot less waste,” she said.
“And especially with cloth nappies, if you buy the quality brands they can last four or more years so you can use them on multiple children.
“It does actually work out to be cheaper if you don’t get a bit addicted and buy too many!”
While getting your head around the washing process may initially seem overwhelming, Lauren says “it’s pretty simple, really”.
“You just do the pre-wash in the machine, there’s no hand washing or anything, and then you do your main wash and hang them out.”
The mother and daughter had their business up and running within about a month in October, and are already expanding to offer a full range of eco baby products.
“Even if someone just did cloth nappies part-time, the positive impact for the environment is huge,” Annette said.
