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Coronavirus: Nappy shortage leads to increased demand for cloth alternatives

Rebh McGregor, 11 months, with some of the reusable nappies.
Rebh McGregor, 11 months, with some of the reusable nappies.

Desperate parents have turned to a Perth organisation after supermarkets began to run out of nappies.

The Perth nappy library, which provides information on reusable cloth nappies as well as loaning out samples, say the current health crisis has led to an increase in enquiries.

Mums across Scotland have reported difficulty in buying baby essentials after panic buyers stripped supermarket shelves bare.

Perth chairwoman Laurie McGregor said she had personally witnessed baby aisles in supermarkets “decimated” of items such as formula and disposable nappies.

She said the situation had left many parents considering returning to reusable alternatives.

Modern cloth nappies come in a variety of styles, including “all in one” types and pocket nappies, where the waterproof wrap is stuffed with an absorbent liner.

“Nappy libraries across the country have a central Facebook group and we’ve been seeing that there’s definitely high demand nationwide at the moment,” Laurie said.

“A lot of the cloth nappy brands I follow on social media have also seen an increase in demand.”

Laurie McGregor, with daughter Rebh and volunteer Freya Massie.

As well as looking to hire nappies, she said people were looking for advice on using cloth.

“People are saying we couldn’t have come along at a better time because they are struggling to get nappies,” she said.

“A lot are mums that wouldn’t have looked at cloth before are now borrowing or buying.

“We have a number of birth to potty kits which we hire out, which are designed to contain a range of the types of cloth nappies on the market, and currently we only have one left.”

She said she hoped the trend towards using cloth nappies would continue after the coronavirus crisis.

“With people spending money on cloth I think that we may see them continuing to use them afterwards, she said.

“There’s so many benefits – I’ve never run out of nappies or had to make a late night dash to the supermarket because I’ve run out.

“I hope new users will see those benefits, but also realise that cloth nappies don’t have to be used all the time – they just need to find a way that works for them.”