Many people seeing modern cloth nappies for the first time and hearing about the waterproofing used in most of them (PUL - Polyurethane Laminate) have a hard time accepting that a fabric can be both waterproof and breathable at the same time.
While there are options offering more breathability (like wool covers or a fitted nappy with no cover), there is no doubt that PUL has revolutionised the cloth nappy industry. But is it really all that much better than the old plastic & PVC covers?
In fact we were were asked the question just the other day at one of our Information Sessions: Don't babies get sweatier and hotter in cloth nappies than in disposables?
Have a look at this experiment by American cloth nappy maker Juliane from Oeko Popo. Here she compares the breathability of a PUL nappy with a disposable nappy.
Interesting, isn't it?