If you are aiming to be green, using cloth diapers instead of disposables may seem like a no brainer. I don't believe, however, that the choice is that black and white. With disposables, you have to consider land fill waste, and chemical/gas use in manufacturing, shipping, and the associated packaging. With cloth diapers the main consideration is water use for washing, and some possible chemical use for cleaning. While water use may not seem to outweigh the factors involved with disposables, I have actually read research stating that, depending on where you live, it does. If you live in a place where land fill space is plentiful, but water resources are scarce, it was recommended that one use disposables. And vice versa. Using a cloth diaper service can reduce water/energy use for cleaning because they are able to be more efficient with washing large numbers of diapers at once. The drawback is that, most of the time, they will use some kind of bleach agent to disinfect between multiple customers, whereas at home you can use natural cleaners. Cloth diaper services are also considerably more expensive than washing your own.
There are some other good alternatives on the market today. My favorite is gbaby diapers (stands for green baby diapers) at http://www.gdiapers.com/gdiapers101 . They have reusable cotton covers with plastic free, biodegradable inserts. You can toss, flush, or compost the inserts. You get the best of both worlds - no washing, and no land fill waste. The only problem, for me, is the cost. It costs about $75 a month to diaper your baby in gbaby versus about $35 a month to use disposables. For someone like me, with two in diapers, I just can't swing $150 a month for diapers. So, as you can see, there are many factors to consider when deciding on diapering practices and the same choice isn't going to be best for everyone. We need to look at our own circumstances and make the best choice we can!
OrganicAngel's Two Cents: Reading Laura's post got me thinking so I researched at home diaper services an found this one that services the Northern Colorado area. I recommend you peruse this site to learn a lot if you are interested in going green for your babies. This service is eco friendly and provides good info. They also say that cloth diapered babies potty train more quickly than disposable users!
http://www.ecobabydiaperservice.com/index.asp
2 comments:
Angel, You would not believe this, but I read something about going green with diapers just this morning!! Apparently the greenest thing you can do is... not use anything!!! Believe it or not, some people subscribe to what is called elimination communication. Read this: http://www.ecorazzi.com/2009/10/22/the-green-quote-mayim-bialik-is-a-green-diaper-free-mom/
Thanks, I'll check it out!
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