See my About Me page for more natural parenting information.
Why Choose Cloth Diapers?
Cloth diapers are soft, easy to use, and better for both your pocketbook and the environment. Cloth diapers do not contain dangerous chemicals - and they are cute and fun to use (really!). When was the last time you enjoyed changing your baby's diaper? When you use cute cloth diapers, even this routine chore becomes a lot more fun.
An Easy Way to Go Green
Cloth diapers are easier to use than most people think. These days almost no one uses pins or dunks diapers in the toilet. Convenient options abound so you don't need pins. Messes don't stick to modern cloth diapers, and you can get simple to use cloth diaper sprayers to attach to the toilet if you want to spray the diapers off before dropping them in the diaper pail. Flushable diaper liners also make quick work of messes - and some flushable liners decompose in just days.
Disposable diapers are made from petroleum, bleached paper fiber, super abosrbent polymers, and other chemicals. Bleaching the paper fibers white produces dioxin a deadly carcinogen banned in many other countries. (For more information see - Allsopp, Michelle. Achieving Zero Dioxin: An emergency strategy for dioxin elimination. September 1994. Greenpeace.) Disposable diapers also contain Tributyl-tin (TBT), known to cause hormone problems in people and animals. (Greenpeace. New Tests Confirm TBT Poison in Procter & Gamble's Pampers: Greenpeace Demands World-Wide Ban of Organotins in All Products. 15 May 2000.)
According to Mothering Magazine (March/April 2008), the disposable diapers used each year in the US alone require 4 times as much petroleum to produce as is contained in the entire Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Just think how much we could reduce our dependence on foreign oil if even one in four parents chose to cloth diaper!
Disposable diapers take an unknown amount of time to decompose, but estimates are that it takes 250-500 years. The Real Diaper Association estimates that 27.4 BILLION disposable diapers are used in the US each year. That is one giant mess to pass along to the next 10 generations.
Cloth Diapers Save You Money
Using cloth diapers will save you money. You can save hundreds or thousands of dollars by cloth diapering whether you choose an economical prefold and cover system or whether you opt for the fancier all-in-one cloth diapers - or anything in between. The average baby needs about 6,000 diapers during the first two years (and that is if they potty train at 2 years old). At 25-29 cents each for disposable diapers and $2.50 or more per box for disposable wipes, disposable diapers will cost you a whopping $2,000 or more during those two years. Cloth diapers and wipes will cost you $300 or so for the least expensive option to around $900 for the fanciest diapers. Since washing cloth diapers only takes about 15 minutes every other day (provided you have two days' worth of diapers), you'll save enough to "pay" yourself about $15 an hour or more even if you use a more convenient option such as all in one diapers. Best of all, good quality diapers will last through more than one child - making cloth diapering a second child basically free.
Can't afford to invest in a full supply of cloth diapers all at once? Start with enough diapers to last one day and then use your savings from this month to start adding to your supply each month until you have enough diapers to last 2 days between washes. Many cloth diaper stores (such as mine) offer a gift registry as well, so you can let family and friends know what you need and let them help you get started. Another option is to start with prefolds and covers, then add more convenient options as your budget permits.
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