A single internet search yields a variety of options: limited-edition prints , bold solids no pun intended, I hope , and even diapers with ironic slogans printed on the back.
Not only is there concern about the plastic used in disposable diapers biodegrading in landfills, there is also concern about the safety of throwing away human waste.
The American Public Health Association points out that disposing of human feces in a landfill could introduce into the groundwater any of different viruses including polio and hepatitis. When asked why they started using cloth rather than disposable diapers, more than half said it was because they heard about it from a friend or family member and on social media. Stay-at-home mom and second-baby cloth diaper convert Heather Campbell says she saved money by buying cloth diapers in bulk, laundering them responsibly using only natural soap-free detergents, and even managed to resell them for close to 50 percent of their value when she was done.
Even the most conservative comparisons of cloth diapers to disposable yield mixed results. The Simple Dollar ran a two-year analysis of both and found that reusable diapers resulted in only marginal savings of a couple hundred dollars over that two-year period. Cloth diapers afforded parents like Campbell more control over the money they spent each month, rather than paying whatever the grocery store decided disposables were worth each week or cutting coupons.
If money was tight, they could line-dry diapers for a while to save on electricity or sell some old ones to recoup the initial investment. Financially, the great cloth diaper debate seems to come out a wash. But what about the environmental impact of laundering cotton diapers versus throwing away disposables?
A UK-based study found that the amount of carbon dioxide produced by using disposable diapers for 2. Even considering the additional disposables that end up in crowded landfills, experts on low-carbon living argue that the environmental impact might still be less than using fancy biodegradable diapers or even cloth.
Obviously, running full loads of diapers on cold water and then line drying could help to decrease the carbon footprint, but it also means stocking more diapers and investing more time, which again increases the overall cost. A few of these chemicals are present in pesticides like Roundup and have been found to cause cancer in large quantities, but so far no major studies have explored the long-term effects of absorbing these chemicals through the skin as a result of wearing disposable diapers.
Some children can have a sensitivity to some of the dyes and fragrances used in highly manufactured diapers. In these cases, the benefits of cloth over disposable diapers may be greater for an individual baby or family than for the population as a whole.
There are chemicals and pesticides involved in the production of cloth diapers as well, which can seep into the groundwater and severely impact the ecosystem of countries where cotton is a primary export. Plus, they were just cute. What to Expect follows strict reporting guidelines and uses only credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions and highly respected health organizations.
Learn how we keep our content accurate and up-to-date by reading our medical review and editorial policy. The educational health content on What To Expect is reviewed by our medical review board and team of experts to be up-to-date and in line with the latest evidence-based medical information and accepted health guidelines, including the medically reviewed What to Expect books by Heidi Murkoff.
This educational content is not medical or diagnostic advice. Use of this site is subject to our terms of use and privacy policy. Registry Builder New. Cloth vs. Medically Reviewed by Lauren Crosby, M. Medical Review Policy All What to Expect content that addresses health or safety is medically reviewed by a team of vetted health professionals. Wondering what kind of diaper is best for your baby? Besides anecdotal evidence, these sources often cite the fact that the age of toilet training in the US has risen from around 18 months in the s and s to 3 years old today, a climb that tracks the increase in popularity of disposable diapers, from their introduction in the mid 20th century to today, with over 95 percent of babies in the US using disposables.
A study in Japan compared a small group of infants—including twins—half of whom were diapered with cloth and half with disposables. That study found the two groups potty trained at the same age. The environmental impact that this new person will have on the world weighs heavily on some soon-to-be parents. A Environmental Protection Agency report found that disposable diapers account for 7 percent of nondurable household waste in landfills.
But disposable diaper advocates have countered that the energy and water costs of laundering cloth diapers, as well as the environmental impact of cotton production, make them less environmentally friendly than they appear, particularly in terms of the carbon emissions traceable to their care. If you live in the desert, water is likely at a premium, so washing diapers every two days may be an irresponsible use of resources.
If you live in an area where your power comes from coal, using the dryer regularly to dry your nappies may likewise be irresponsible. If you live in an area that creates energy by incinerating waste instead of using a landfill, the waste impact will differ.
Too often we only calculate our environmental impact according to what ends up in the landfill. Cloth diapering can still be an option for you, but you may need to choose your types of diapers or decide how often you can wash accordingly.
When any diaper gets wet or soiled, the skin gets hot and sticky due to the combination of body heat, moisture, and uric acid. Cloth diapers allow for better airflow, which helps the moisture that's sitting on the baby's skin to evaporate, leaving your baby drier and less prone to diaper rash.
Many parents I've talked to have also cured their baby's already existing diaper rash by switching to cloth, once again due to the increased airflow. Granted, this could also be due to the fact that the moisture isn't wicked away with cloth and the baby feels wet and likely cries, thus urging the parents to change more often than with disposables.
And have you felt some of the diapers on the market today? Many diapers are made of absolutely luxuriously soft fabrics! And even those that aren't — say the old-fashioned standbys, cotton prefolds — tend to soften and quilt up the more they are washed. The engineering involved in a standard disposable diaper is amazing — it truly is a feat of engineering.
When it comes to potty training, this is a wonderful thing. As you're teaching your child, there is already an instinctive knowledge of what being wet and being dry is like and subsequently, many cloth diapering parents potty are able to train their children earlier and more quickly. This list would be incomplete with making mention of the fact that modern cloth diapers are downright fashionable. I think it's especially fun when little girls are able to wear their cloth diapers as bloomers or when a just-learned-to-walk toddler is cruising around in nothing but a diaper — now that's the definition of cute!
A few years ago, one cloth diaper company started putting elastic not just around the leg gathers, but in the back too. Within a short time, this became standard on a number of cloth diapers and covers and because of it, cloth diapers win hands-down over disposables due to their ability to keep poo right where it should be that is, not up the back! And even if you use prefolds like I do, which have no elastic whatsoever, you can still get a snug fit in the back, which is usually coupled with a cover that has the elastic all the way around and thus you're doubly covered.
One of my favorite reasons to promote cloth diapering is because it gets partners talking. Ultimately, your partnership, your family, and your household will be the better for it.
It's not uncommon when you're changing your baby in a public washroom and another mom sees that you're using cloth, for her to come up and either start asking questions or to share about her experience with cloth. Ultimately, though, this isn't just about chatting and connecting with other moms which is wonderful , but it's about bringing to light sustainable living options that ultimately are good for the community as a whole. As more and more parents hear and see other parents cloth diapering, there is more and more conversation about how to make it work and new parents become equipped to decide what will work best for their family.
This applies on a larger scale, as well.
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