In fact, I kind of freaked my Mom out. When I explained that yes, I would be using cloth diapers, I thought she was going to pass out.

“That’s a lot of work!” she protested.

“Yes,” I sighed. “Yes it is. But it’s been for the environment and our pocket book.”

“Not when you calculate in all that laundry!”

“Yes, even then – a savings of $3,000 over two years compared to disposable paper diapers. Besides, did you know that even with disposable paper diapers you are supposed to dump the poo in the toilet? Most people don’t do that so not only do we fill our landfills with piles of paper and plastic diapers, but with human excrement which eventually leaks into our drinking water…”

She made a face at me. “It’s still not worth it,” she said.

That night, she emailed me a link to GDiapers. What are gDiapers? According to their site,

gDiapers consist of a washable, cotton outer pant and a plastic free flushable refill. They are made of breathable material just like sports clothing. So, babies stay dry and happy and are far less likely to get diaper rash.

Can’t flush? It’s ok to toss flushable refills because they’re plastic-free. Or garden compost the wet ones. They’ll break down in 50-150 days.

Brilliant! Considering I am all for finding the middle ground (in this case, convenience and biodegradability!) I was thrilled with this little find.

So, for all you parents out there, here are my suggestions for the diaper issue, depending on your level of eco-dedication!

Newbie
Cost: about $0.275 per diaper versus $0.22 per conventional diaper
Time: seconds
Energy to do this: minimal

If you really must go with the disposable paper diaper, at least consider using products like chlorine-free diapers by Seventh Generation. It reduces cancer rates by reducing the amount of dioxin put into the environment during production. And according to their site, “If every household in the U.S. replaced just one 40-count package of size 3 conventional diapers with our chlorine-free diapers, we could avoid 133,000 pounds of pollution from entering the environment.”

Amateur Environmentalist
Cost: about $0.44 per diaper change if you include the price of the covers
Time: seconds to click and order, having them brought to your door or a few extra minutes at Whole Foods
Energy to do this: minimal

Yes, it’s a bit more expensive, but you’re not dumping anything into the landfills and those handy little inserts are biodegradable, the wet inserts even compostable!

Certified Tree-Hugger
Cost: about $0.34 a diaper change, including washing
Time: a minute or two more per diaper change and at least an hour or two for the extra loads of laundry a week
Energy to do this: significant

While there is great argument over the true eco-friendliness of cloth diapers, organic cotton is best for your baby. And if you are dumping the poo into the toilet and washing the diapers correctly, the only thing that you really do increase is your water usage. But I do give mad props to those of you dedicated enough to do this – go you!

(Please note all prices are estimated from Diapers.com.)

—–

Like the tips but have an even better one? Leave it in a comment!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.