Hello Charlie! - Things for Baby
I discovered this website which has some great products for your baby:
Hello Charlie -Â https://www.hellocharlie.com.au
The products offered on this site are geared towards being eco-friendly (better for the environment) and don’t contain those nasties (toxic ingredients) found in a lot of mainstream brands.
I love what they stand for!
I purchased their sample of eco nappies. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a favourite here yet. (Update - It took a little time but my go-to nappy is Seventh Generation - more below)Â
Nappy Samples:
https://www.hellocharlie.com.au/newborn-nappy-samples-box/
Admittedly, I wasn’t paying much attention when I tested these out. I’m probably going to get samples again so that I can make a proper decision.
I hate to admit it but Huggies has been a reliable brand in terms of fit. If only they took into consideration the environment and materials used.
I’m determined to keep searching for a nappy that ticks all my boxes.Â
(Sidenote: I was given a pack of ecoriginals. They weren’t too bad but I did have a few leakages. So, unfortunately, this wasn’t the brand for me.)
So, I did another round of trial nappies. The winner ... Seventh Generation!
Perhaps, not the most eco-friendly compared to some of the other eco brands but this one ticked all of our boxes.Â
I love that they aren’t bulky and they have ‘super-stretchy’ leg gathers. Great absorbency for such a thin nappy. And feel softer than other eco brands. They boast additional benefits like chlorine free, hypo-allergenic, no latex, no fragrance.
https://www.hellocharlie.com.au/seventh-generation-nappy-samples/
Eco nappies are not cheap! And while Hello Charlie does offer good pricing I did find a store in Leichardt that also sells the nappies: here:Â https://www.thepharmacy.com.au/
The Pharmacy shop has become a favourite of mine as well - it needs its own write-up. But they also sell organic biscuits and porridge.
On a side note - I noticed recently that Joonya (https://www.joonya.com/) has released their own nappy range. I’ll be looking at giving them a go as well.Â
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Hello Charlie also sells biodegradable nappy bags. Unfortunately, they only have one brand on offer - Wotnot, which is a great brand btw but is quite expensive.Â
I haven’t found a cheaper brand though.Â
(Sidenote: I did find this one brand which was cheaper and biodegradable on eBay called Biotuff - unfortunately, the bags are little small and I found that some of the bags would tear - so the quality wasn’t so great- in fact it was terrible - I DO NOT recommend)
Due to my budget, I have had to opt for Nappy Sacks (https://www.bigw.com.au/product/nappy-sacks-200-bags/p/208955/) - It says they are ‘naturally degradable’. Not sure what that means. And unfortunately, they have fragrance. I’ll keep searching for something better.
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Something I really love about this site is their Cheat Sheets!
http://blog.hellocharlie.com.au/category/green-guides/
My favourite is the Baby Wipes review:
http://blog.hellocharlie.com.au/biggest-ever-baby-wipes-cheat-sheet-45-wipes-reviewed/
I was a little worried about the ingredients found in baby wipes and this cheat sheet has helped so much!
I started out trying Jackson Reece Herbal Baby Wipes (Kinder by Nature). They are great and bub had no reactions.Â
Unfortunately, my partner is more practically minded and likes it when wipes have the plastic lid. It makes opening the packet easier.Â
So, I switched to JAK Organics Aqua Baby Wipes which are also great and bub had no reactions. But it was difficult to grab the wipes out of the packet. I was expecting that when you grab a wipe it would tag the next one ready to be lifted out (like when you grab a tissue out of a tissue box the next tissue is tagged and ready to taken) but this did not happen and instead of trying to grab one wipe a bunch would come out. In other words, the wipes aren’t interlocked!
(Sidenote: I also purchased the JAK Organics 2-in-1 Baby Wipes which I would use sparingly - I loved that I could clean and soothe as a barrier cream at the same time - bub didn’t need barrier cream every time)
So, my next purchase of wipes will be Joonya Natural Baby Wipes. From reading the reviews it seems like this may tick all my boxes. I’ll let you know how this pans out.
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BABY WIPES UPDATE:
Joonya baby wipes ar my go-to. Love what these guys stand for and the functionality of the wipes are great. They are interlocked, have a plastic lid for easy access and the wipes themselves don’t smell and have a bumpy surface.
I wish they had a refill pack version. This would be better for the environment and I could use them at home to refill my dispenser.Â
Joonya offer a subscription-based option that saves a lot of money. If I can make some time I’ll do a separate write-up.
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Something else I’m looking into in the near future are swim nappies. I’ll update once I’ve researched this more :)