My take on diapers
Ah. The joys of motherhood. This morning, I was barfed on by a smiling 4 month old right after changing her cloth diaper. Why yes, I do use cloth diapers. Despite some studies that insist cloth is no more environmentally friendly than disposables, I made the decision to cloth diaper my babies for many reasons. First and foremost - the environmental impact. I know studies have shown that the water and electricity used to launder diapers, along with their manufacturing process, make cloth a wash compared to disposables in terms of energy usage. Sure, that’s understandable. But what about pollution?
What I don’t believe these studies considered is that less than half of disposable diapers are disposed of properly. The directions on diaper packaging instruct users to flush fecal matter down the toilet before throwing the diaper away. I don’t know anyone who follows those directions. Improperly processed fecal matter can contain e. coli and all manner of other nasties, which is not something we want to add to the environment. There’s also the matter that in a household with a diapered child, disposable diapers make up about 50% of the household’s solid waste. Ack!
I also considered cost. So far, I have spent approximately $350 on diapering and expect to spend another $100 before my daughter is potty trained. Potty training generally occurs at around 2.5 years, but we’ll say 3 years. That’s a total of $450 total on diapers. It costs me about $7 more a month to wash and dry the diapers, less in the spring/summer when I can air dry them. That’s $702 over the span of 3 years to diaper a baby. If you buy your disposable diapers at a warehouse club, you can diaper for about $40 a month. For 36 months (3 years) of diapering, that’s $1,440. Already, cloth is coming in at less than half the price of disposables. But wait! There’s more!
I can sell my used diapers. On Ebay, the 7 pocket diapers I have could go for as much as $10-12 each USED. With my second child, I bought used Fuzzibunz pocket diapers and sold them for the same amount I bought them. I diapered her nearly for free.
If you’re debating cloth vs. disposables, weigh your options. There are many variables. It may be more difficult for you if you take your laundry to a laundromat or have a partner who is unwilling to change cloth diapers. There are also greener alternatives for those who wish to use disposables. Though generally more expensive, some environmentally friendly disposables - like Nature Babycare - are compostable.
