1. Cloth Diapers are better for the environment: Andrea, a nurse practitioner at Tribeca Pediatrics in Manhattan says, "In a given day, if I see thirty patients, I might see two people using cloth diapers. People who use them really love them. From a medical point of view, the benefits of one over the otherisn ’t at all clear. From my own experience, I don’t really see more diaper rash with one or the other. From an environmental point of view… oh boy, yes. I think we made a huge mistake switching to disposables. They’re definitely worse for the environment."

She's right. Disposable diapers are the third most common item in American landfills.

Cloth diapers are also safer for the environment to manufacture. There is a lot of controversy around this issue because the cloth-manufacturing industry has a poor reputation for caring for the environment and organic cotton diapers are not affordable for most people. However, this cannot compare to the damage to the environment caused by disposables on two ends: during manufacturing and once they spend 500 years in a landfill.

There are those who believe the diaper industry studies that showed that the water-waste involved in washing diapers is equivalent to the energy used to produce a disposable. These studies did not examine the environmental cost of growing cotton over manufacturing the plastic and chemicals that are used in disposable diapers. Nor did they accurately take into account the fact that cotton diapers are reused for multiple children. Also, please consider the wood pulp that makes up the bulk of a disposable diaper. Many disposable diaper companies are criticized for using wood lumbered in old-growth forests.

In 1991, a neutral advocacy group in the United Kingdom called Women's Environmental Network (WEN) compared Proctor & Gamble studies. Even using the disposable industry's own statistics, they found that disposables use "20 times more raw materials, 3 times more energy, 2 times more water and generate 60 times more solid waste" than do cloth diapers. Moreover, cloth is washed with oxygenated detergents that are bio-friendly. Compare that to the dioxin used to bleach disposables white and you have yet another reason to promote cotton. Many of the chemicals used in American disposable diapers have been banned in European countries because of their carcinogenic properties.

Unfortunately, well-regarded product mavens have not taken the manufacturing process into account when they compare the environmental impact of cotton over disposable. Even the consumer watchdog Consumer Reports neglects to address the environmental impact of the manufacturing process. "The vast majority of parents choose disposable diapers over cloth diapers at least some of the time because they are more convenient and far better at keeping children dry. Disposables cost less than a diaper service, but somewhat more than cloth diapers you launder yourself. Environmental trade-offs exist with either choice: Disposable diapers create waste in landfills, but cloth diapers use water and energy when they are washed." At least, cloth diapers put fecal matter in the sewage system for proper treatment. Disposables instruct users to scrape fecal matter from the diaper into the toilet before disposing of it, but few people follow these instructions.

2. Cloth diapers are safer for your baby: If we're going to talk safety, let's consider that humans have been cloth diapering since cloth was invented. A disposable diaper is an invention of the mid-Twentieth century that uses plastic, bleached fabric, wood pulp, and the super-absorbent polymer known as sodiumpolyacrylate. Sodium polyacrylate has been proven safe, but some babies have died when they suffocated on the plastic liner of their disposable diaper. Similarly, curious hands have been known to tear apart the inner lining of disposables and experiment with tasting the absorbent material. This cannot happen with cotton. Moreover, some babies develop allergies to the chemicals in disposable diapers.

3. Babies in cloth diapers may toilet train sooner: There is evidence to suggest that cloth-diapered babies toilet train considerably sooner than their disposable diaper contemporaries. This is probably due to the fact that they can feel the wetness of the cotton and find the discomfort a powerful motivator to toilet train.

4. Cloth diapers are (probably) more comfortable for your baby: We can't ask a baby which they prefer, but which knickers would you choose for yourself, plastic or cotton?

5. Cloth diapers can be cheaper: This is true if you wash them at home. This can be true if you find an affordable diaper service. Even cheap disposable diapers and a below-average diaper output will set you back about $60 per month. Truthfully though, sometimes the diaper service is more expensive by about $20 per month. On the flip side, the service is highly convenient.

Parents who are otherwise environmentally conscious think "Gross!" when they consider washable cotton diapers. One parent writes, "I never, for a moment, considered cloth diapers. Poo in my washing machine?Ick. Leaky, squishy cotton? Double ick . Diaper technology is right up there with NASA in terms of importance, in my opinion. I wouldn't trade it for anything. In fact, I can't even get my head around what the appeal of cloth is."

Modern disposable diapers are a marvel of technological achievement, but that doesn't make them the best choice for the environment. Who will inherit those landfills full of disposables? What happens to the untreated fecal matter in those landfills? What happens to the toxin-ladenwastewater created during the manufacturing of disposable diapers? "Double ick," indeed.

There are alternatives:
1. You could use flushable "hybrid" diapers
2. You're lucky enough to live near a rare diaper recycling facility
3. You're willing to spend a bit more on your disposable to get one that is free of chlorine

*photo by Drew Allen via flickr.

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