FAQs

The Billie Wonder HQ is based in Amsterdam.

I am Steef Fleur, the founder of Billie Wonder. Born and raised in Amsterdam, originally a documentary photographer and a mother of two.

I felt the world of washable diapers deserved to be seen in a new light, in terms of production, imagery, and design.

On occasion I do. For example, the day before vacation when you don’t want to leave the house with dirty laundry.

My initial answer is no. But that’s because I am used to it after two kids. Honestly, it does take some getting used to. Give yourself that time. Experiment at home first and venture out as you get more comfortable. Keep in mind, leakages can and will happen in the beginning, regardless of your choice of diapers, and it’s ok. After a couple of days you know what to do. After 2 weeks, you’re a pro. In a month, it’s part of your routine and everything is automatic.

Our logo was cleverly designed by Smörgåsbord Studio to mimic the look, feel, and versatility of cloth - playfully forming letters, a bosom, or a bottom.

Yes! We recommend our Newborn Kit. Our size 1, with a small insert (absorbent pad), will do the trick. It’s meant for babies starting at 2,5kg (5.5lbs). Be advised, newborn feces is dark green or even black for the first couple days. This stool can stain your diapers. You can get it out by hanging them (just the absorbing fabric) soaking wet to dry in the sunshine. This is the only way to get this out. Or you can choose to start the first 2 days with disposables and then with your washables when the stool becomes yellow in color. 

Tip: The first days (or weeks or months) can be overwhelming. Start with washables when things settle down. Washables take a little time to get used too and you already have enough on your plate.

More or less the same as with disposables. You need a bin, laundry nets (vs plastic bags), and diapers. With washables there’s a difference between day and night diapers. You need both. In the diaper you place a liner to catch the solids. So you need liners.

And when using washable wipes, you need wipes and a spray bottle, and the bottle should be filled with water or water together with an oil that helps clean and nourish the baby’s skin. How many diapers you need depends on your commitment, i.e. full or part-time washables, and how often you want to wash. You need to wash every 3 days, earlier is okay, washing after more than 3 days is not good. We have a calculation to help. You can also opt for our Full Kit which contains all the diapers you need.

Shop the Full Kit here.

Since you need to pre-wash the inserts/pads and wraps/shells, and because it takes more than one diaper change to get used to washables, we do not recommend buying just one.

Instead, we recommend our Trial Kit. It contains 2 daytimes and 1 nighttime diaper. This Kit is perfect for those who want to give it a real try, without making a big investment straight away.

Another good option for those who want to give it a try first, is renting a Full Kit through Tiny library. This way, you can try our washable diapers, without having to buy them.

But, of course, if you want one diaper, we’re happy to accommodate.

Our Full Kit is enough to keep you going when washing twice a week. Alongside this, a bin with two laundry nets one or two sets of washable wipes; spray bottle and oil. 

Accessories worth buying are wet bags (The Wet & Dry for a day trip and The Bag separate for longer trips). Magic Wool when your little one has a sore or red bum and we really like The Wool Pant for night. You only need one and some lanolin makes it water resistant.

Yes, see The Nighttime for that. You can buy it in a kit of four. So when doing laundry you always have a dry one left in the drawer. If your baby is a heavy wetter at night, you can put extra absorption in the diaper by clicking in a set of The Insert. You need a water resistant layer over the diaper. The Wrap works fine, but we prefer The Wool Pants for nights. Wool is all natural and breathable. Great for long nights. Also higher on the belly, so less risk of leakage for belly sleepers.

The Wrap (exterior or shell), is like a new piece of clothing and should be washed once before use. The absorbent inserts, wipes and nighttimes are like new towels. For maximum absorbency pre-wash on a short cycle, no detergent, and without drying, 3 times in a row. Please note, they are at their best after 8 washings. For an older child, we recommend 6 pre-washes (short cycle, no detergent, and without drying).

Liners do two things:

1. Move (wick) liquid away from the skin and into the absorbent layer and 

2. Catch solids for easy disposal

Diaper rash isn't caused by moisture. It is mostly caused by the composition of disposables. When your laundry routine is off (and your diapers are not clean) or when babies are teething rash may occur. There is no scientific proof for teething causing rash, but the experience of many parents. We recommend The Miracle Wool, not cream. The lanolin in wool heals the skin in a natural way, while it also creates a buffer to let the skin breathe. Cream does the opposite and doesn't have our preference. And when it doesn't go away, check your laundry routine. If the rash appears as red dots, it might be a fungus infection. This is very common (also with disposable use) and easy to control, but better check with your doctor.

Yes. The diapers can be used for several babies. How many depends on how you care for the diapers. For example tumble drying decreases the life of our diapers.

Approx 21kg (46lbs) per month. A child in disposables produces 22kg (48.5lbs) of diaper waste per month. A child in washable diapers less than 1 kg (4.5lbs).

Unfortunately, we don’t know. There’s lots of data out there but it’s inconclusive because it has so many variables. For example, where did you buy them, what materials are they made of, how do you wash them, how do you dry them, etc. That said, we can't say how much, but you save without a doubt.

Similar to CO2 savings, this question is difficult to answer given the many variables.For example, do you buy disposables in bulk? And from where? How far do you have to drive or travel to get them? You get the drift. But let’s compare the numbers we know. Average disposable spend by parents in the Netherlands is € 1.500,- for diapers and another € 750,- for wipes. Our washable full kit (first a size 1 then a size 2) costs € 945,- and another € 55,- for wipes with bottle and oil. That’s a difference of approx € 1.250,-, but for argument’s sake, call it € 750,- in savings per child. These savings grow exponentially when you use them on more than one child.

The Wrap (exterior or shell), is like a new piece of clothing and should be washed once before use. The absorbent inserts, wipes and nighttimes are like new towels. For maximum absorbency pre-wash on a short cycle, no detergent, and without drying, 3 times in a row. Please note, they are at their best after 8 washings. For an older child, we recommend 6 pre-washes (short cycle, no detergent, and without drying).

Also, watch out video tutorial for the Change Flow:

Every child is different. It depends on the age of your child and the number of inserts you need. On average we say every 2-4 hours. In our experience, the morning diaper lasts approx 3 hours and in the afternoon diaper 4 hours. The Nighttime is designed to keep your baby dry for 12 hours. Even longer when you add an extra set of The Inserts. Some prefer to use The Nighttime during the day too.

Read our How to's page for tips and tricks. Here are the headlines: 

- Make sure the liner and inserts don’t stick out of the wrap

- Make sure the wrap is fitted properly, not too tight, not too loose

- Make sure your romper is not too tight over the diaper. It will squeeze out the diaper and give you leakages.

- Keep a good laundry routine: when diapers are not clean, they don’t absorb as quickly as well and quickly as they should

The Liners come in a roll of 100 sheets. They come in one size, so may be bigger than needed at first. You can cut them if you wish or fold the sides a bit. However, make sure they are not layered, this may affect absorption speed and cause leakages.

Yes, undo wrap and clean baby with preferred wipes - washable or disposable. If using washable wipes on especially big jobs, use toilet paper for the heavy lifting then finish with washables. This minimises the amount of solids on your wipes and in your bag. Remove liner and throw it solid (and used disposable wipe) in the bin. Remove and replace inserts and button up. Place used inserts and wipes (if not using disposables) in a  bag and you’re finished.

This rarely happens with washable diapers due to the form fitting elastic in the back.

It depends on the location and facilities. A location with a warm, dry climate and a washing machine is ideal. But hand washing is also an option. Either way, the diapers might not be as clean as when you wash them at home, so make sure to wash a full cycle or two at your normal routine when home.

Like pre-washing a new towel, pre-washing guarantees you’re getting maximum absorbency from your inserts and nighttime.

When your baby is only on breast milk, don’t worry, your laundry machine can easily handle this. With formula or solid food, use a liner in the diaper. You can dispose of solids in the diaper together with this liner. Solid not fully on the liner? Use a bin and the shower to rinse this, or some toilet paper.

Start with a short (15-30 min) cold cycle rinse with very little detergent. This ensures urine is removed and doesn’t mix with your regular laundry. Then after that, and not removing pre-wash contents, add your normal laundry. Run a regular full (pre and main) cycle on 40-60 degrees. Do not use an eco setting, it uses less water and does not get diapers clean.

See our step-by-step guide or The Laundry Instructions

Every 3 days. More often is clearly not a problem, less often is not good.

Use a non-eco powder detergent (not a liquid), for dark laundry, with no bleach. Dose for heavily soiled laundry see your detergent packaging.

Stains in the absorbent fabric can be removed by hanging them wet in the sun. Note, this is the best way to try and get breastmilk stains out. You don’t need direct, clear sunshine, a cloudy day works too, it just takes longer. Do not use any stain removers. It is bad for the fabric, bad for absorption and not good for baby skin. A final piece of advice. Breast milk stains are stubborn. If you can’t get them out in the sun and washing, don’t worry about it, it’s just a change of colour, your diaper is clean.

Occasionally, yes. When on the road, no problem. But in general they need hot water to get clean.

When the diapers still smell after washing, you will need to revise your washing routine. Ammonia may be building up in your inserts and nighttimes because the washing cycles/detergent are not cleaning thoroughly. If the problem persists, strip wash to "reset" the diapers. Please see our laundry washing routine section for more info.

When you have revised your washing routine and after another round or two of washing your diapers still smell or you still have trouble with the absorption speed of the diapers, strip washing might help. Wash one full cycle with half the regular dose of detergent. After that wash a full long cycle twice without detergent at 60 degrees. No need for drying in between cycles. This should fully rinse the diapers and optimize the absorption again.

The water resistant (wrap/bags): Line dry inside and in the shade. Never on a radiator or heater. To prevent mold, make sure fabric is fully dry before storing. The absorbent (inserts/night time/wipes): Line dry or tumble dry low. Hemp is a very absorbent natural fiber, so it takes a bit to dry. This fabric can be exposed to the sun. To prevent mold, make sure fabric is fully dry before storing.  

As hemp is a natural fiber, it might feel stiff after line drying. Just rub the fabric with your hands to soften. Also, when on, the warmth of the skin will soften the fabric. 

Hang diapers in a place with sufficient air flow, like a stairway.

PUL is polyester/polyurethane laminated knit fabric. It is not a natural fiber, but the most common used for cloth diapers because it is water resistant, flexible, soft, and breathable. Not our ideal from a regenerative point of view, but the best choice available to us at the time and certainly a durable product that can last multiple children. Rest assured, we are searching for something more natural.

It is the most regenerative raw material you can use. It uses less water than cotton, needs no pesticides to grow, needs less space to grow, has several rounds per year, more yield per round and nourishes soil vs exhausting it.

Our hemp-based oil is meant to be diluted with water and applied to a washable wipe to clean a baby’s skin during a diaper change. It is especially formulated by us to gently nourish and clean the skin.

Our hemp oil is produced in the Netherlands

In China. China is the country with the most experience in the production of washable diapers. Alongside expertise, we aspire to make an entirely hemp product. China is currently the largest grower and producer of hemp textile in the world. Producing there means our supply chain is shortened significantly. As with all our products and processes, we are always reading and talking to entrepreneurs to see if we can’t further lessen our impact. 

We did most of our sourcing ourselves in collaboration with factories, The Sustainability Club and We R Asia.

Japan, by Hachiman Kasei

By container vessel. For all fuel used we do a fuel switch in another vessel in collaboration with Good Shipping company. So the vessel coming from China might not be bio-fueled, but we ensure another vessel is to compensate.

In The Netherlands, we ship our products with Fietskoeriers. A service that picks up orders by bike from our warehouse and brings it to a distribution depot. From there the package is distributed mostly using electric or hybrid vehicles to distribution points closer to the packages final destination. And at the earliest point possible, delivered by bike to its final destination. For shipments outside The Netherlands, DHL handles all deliveries until we find a greener solution internationally.

We ship every working day and strive to get all orders received by noon, shipped the same day.