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Is there more in your baby’s diaper than you bargained for?

11.24.2008

Submitted by aguru on Mon, 11/24/2008 - 1:24pm.
The Bite:
Not the usual junk, we’re talkin’ chems in disposable diapers that aren’t great for babies, baby daddies, or Mama Earth. (Not to mention landfills loaded with nasty nappies.) Junk the junk, and try eco or cloth diapers instead.
The Benefits: 
  • A buttload of savings. Babies go through about 6,700 diaper changes; cloth ones cost on average $0.07 per use versus $0.18 for conventional disposables.
  • No junking the planet. 3.5 million tons of disposable diapers end up in landfills each year, taking 500 years to decompose.
  • A safer booty. Disposable diapers contain toxins like tributyltin (TBT), known to cause hormonal problems in mammals, and SPA, which was banned from tampons in 1995.
  • A bigger selection. Not into cloth? New eco-friendly diapers are made without chems or synthetic materials derived from petroleum. 
Personally Speaking: 
Although they save cash in the long run, cloth diapers can be pricey up front. Chicago mom Jennifer Sturm got her Fuzzi Bunz “gently used” covers (the pant part) on eBay.
Wanna Try: 
From most-eco to least-eco:
  • Fuzzi Bunz - washable, U.S.-made cotton cover with hemp inserts (see photo above); great unless you live in an area where water is scarce, in which case try the hybrid or bio kind below ($18).
  • Under the Nile Adjustable Velcro Diaper - washable, organic cotton terry cloth diapers - no pins necessary ($14).
  • National Association of Diaper Services - find a cloth diaper service in your area.
  • gDiapers Starter Kit - comes with two covers and 10 biodegradable diaper liners you can toss in the trash (more eco than flushing and avoids potential clogging) ($27/kit, $15/refills).
  • Nature Babycare - absorbent disposables with no chems or petro-based plastics ($11).

Timeout

Men average 1 minute 36 seconds to change a diaper, while women average 2 minutes 5 seconds.

Bang For The Bite

If 10,000 Mama Biter babies use nondisposable diapers instead of disposable ones, we’ll avert the use of enough diapers to fill 302 dump trucks by the time those babies are potty trained.

1 comment
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Jennifer  on April 01, 2009 at 11:17 AM 1
Cloth diapers are a great idea, they are all I use for my 4.5 month old. But there are so many more choices than just Fuzzi Bunz! If you're interested in cloth, poke around on the internet and do some research. I even chose to use natural wool covers instead of the usual PUL covers. I have a friend who is using plain old white pre-folds with pins (available at some Target stores, even!) and the cheap PUL covers you can still get at any baby store. But no matter what you choose, cloth diapers are better for the environment and for your baby! In 4.5 months, my baby has never had a diaper rash. I only use disposables when I take her to the doctor, and it seems like they always leak on me!

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