Good for baby, good for the earth, good for your pocketbook — three compelling reasons to choose cloth diapers

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Our little chemist at work.

1.  HEALTH

Have you ever wondered what is inside a disposable diaper? Did you know that all disposable diapers get their absorbency from sodium polyacrylate, which is a type of super absorbent polymer (SAP) that has been banned from use in tampons due to their link to toxic shock syndrome? In addition, disposable diapers contain trace amounts of dioxins, which have been linked to increasing rates of childhood asthma, compromised immune systems, hormonal disorders, infertility and cancer. A 1999 study found that mice that were exposed to disposable diapers developed asthma, whereas mice that were exposed to cloth diapers did not.  In addition, studies have shown that only 7% of children had diaper rash in 1955, but after disposable diapers become popular, the rate of diaper rash soared to 78% in 1991.

Unlike disposable diapers, cloth diapers get their absorbency not from chemicals, but from natural or synthetic fibres such as cotton, bamboo, hemp or microfibre. Choosing to cloth diaper will save your baby from exposure to the many potentially harmful chemicals contained in disposable diapers.

2.  ENVIRONMENT

It is estimated that over 4 million disposable diapers get tossed out each day in Canada. That works out to 1.46 billion diapers being added to our landfills each year. Out of sight, out of mind. Have you ever wondered what happens to all of these diapers? In addition to having to find landfill space for all those soiled diapers (which may take 500 years to decompose), there is the problem of untreated urine and fecal matter from the diapers leeching into our soil and groundwater, contaminating our environment and drinking water with viruses and other biohazards. Throwing soiled diapers into our garbage is inconsistent with the World Health Organization's recommendation calling for a ban on urine and fecal matter in solid waste.

The manufacture and use of disposable diapers generate sixty times more solid waste and use twenty times more raw materials and two times more water than the manufacture and use of cloth diapers (source: Real Diaper Association's Diaper Facts).

Cloth diapering families reduce their environmental footprint by generating less trash, consuming less resources to diaper their children, and disposing of poop in the toilet and laundering their diapers which ensures that urine and fecal matter is properly treated by sewage treatment facilities before being released back into the environment. 

3.  COST

It costs an average of approximately $2,000 to diaper a child using disposable diapers and disposable wipes for two years. Did you know that cloth diapering can be done for significantly less money? A set of reusable cloth diapers and reusable cloth wipes can be purchased for between $300 to $600.  The costs are even less if you purchase a set of used cloth diapers, or make your own cloth diapers. Even after adding the costs of laundering, the use of cloth diapers still comes out ahead as being much cheaper than disposable diapers (see our blog post here for a detailed cost comparison analysis).

Quality cloth diapers typically last several years, so if you reuse the same cloth diapers for subsequent children, the savings become even larger.
In addition to being better for baby, better for the environment, and better for your pocketbook, there are other advantages of cloth diapers not discussed above, which include:
  • earlier potty training: children who wear cloth diapers tend to potty train earlier than their counterparts in disposable diapers. The age at which children become toilet-trained has risen since disposable diapers have swept the diaper market. As reported by this New York Times article, studies have found that 92 percent of children were toilet-trained by the age of 18 months in 1957, but  by 1999 only 4 percent of 2-year-olds were toilet-trained.
  • poop containment factor: disposable diapers are notoriously ineffective at containing newborn blowouts, hence the term "neck poo" has made it into parenting vocabulary.  However cloth diapers typically have elastics in the back, and are more fitted overall around the waist and legs. As a result, blowouts are rare occurrences for cloth diapered babies.
  • odor reduction: disposable diapers typically emit a chemical fragrance. When urine mixes with the chemicals in the disposable diapers the chemical odor becomes even more noticeable. Cloth diapers have no fragrances or chemicals.
  • style, style style: cloth diapers come in all sorts of attractive colours and prints and are a lot more fun to wear. Cloth diapering parents love to show off their baby's cloth-diapered bum.
Are you still on the fence about trying cloth and wondering whether it is for you? Cloth diapers have come a long way over the last 20 years. As many cloth diapering parents will attest, cloth diapers are often easier to use and clean than one would expect. See our Cloth 101 page for information about types of cloth diapering options available, and how to clean and care for cloth diapers.  Or view our schedule and sign-up here to attend a cloth diaper circle meeting or cloth diapering 101 workshop (held at various locations within metro Vancouver) to learn more about cloth diapers.

For further information on the hard facts of diapers, see the Real Diaper Association's Diaper Facts.