Why Cloth?

“If cloth diapers were used by just an additional 1 percent of parents, the reduction in waste would be as if 14,200 households completely stopped producing garbage for an entire year”, (The Green Book by Elizabeth Rogers & Thomas M. Kostigen).

 

1. Better for your baby – Disposable diapers contain many toxic chemicals that have been linked to cause cancer, birth defects, liver damage, skin diseases, and genetic damage.  Only 7% of babies using cloth diapers experience diaper rash as opposed to 60% using disposables. 
2. Better for the environment – In the forty plus years that disposables have been around, they now account for 4% of all solid waste in our landfills and they may take up to 500 years to decompose.  It is said that it takes around 80,000 pounds of plastic and over 200,000 trees a year to manufacture the disposable diapers for American babies alone.
3. Saves you money – Simply because you are re-using the diapers you buy instead of throwing them away.   According to the Real Diaper Association, the average baby will go through approximately 6,000 diapers from birth to age two and disposables cost on average about 26 cents per diaper, so that comes to over $1,500 (and remember, that is an estimate for a child only to the age of two).  The very basic supplies needed to cloth diaper a baby for the same time span (and cloth diapered children on average will be potty trained at an earlier age) costs as little as $150 total.  And, if you used the same diapers on multiple children, your savings would be even greater!  Did you know that pre-loved (used) cloth diapers in good condition retain value and can even be sold to another family?  

Choosing to use cloth diapers on your baby is a very personal decision.  Every diaper counts, so even if you choose to cloth diaper part time, it will have a positive impact.  Imagine if we all took wee little changes towards a greener world?!