Why You Should Switch to Cloth Diapers

When most people think of diapers, they think of a plastic-like fabric they can fasten around their baby and then later, when soiled, take off and throw away. The fact is that disposable diapers have only been around since the 1950's and if you saw one of these diapers, you would have no clue what you were looking at. It was a pad of paper that was put into rubber pants. The rubber pants still had to be washed so even this was only partially disposable. Modern disposable diapers weren't around until the 70's and 80's. So the diapers think of now were only invented 40-45 years ago. So what did people use before that you say?

Well if you didn't guess it from the title of this post, before then, people used cloth diapers. Back then, cloth diapers were a large cotton square that was folded around the baby and fastened with pins much like safety pins. They could be paired with a cover of some sort to help make them waterproof but it was not a perfect system. The cotton squares were then washed, by hand, hung to dry, and reused. I don't know about you, but that does not sound like too much fun to me. Thankfully, cloth diapers have come a long way and are easy to launder, waterproof, and user-friendly. In my opinion, the modern cloth diaper is so much better than the disposables regularly used I don't know how everyone doesn't use them now.

Cloth diapering is so much cheaper

I found a calculator online and if your baby weighs 8lbs at birth and grows like an average baby, in the first year you will use 420 newborn sized diapers, 637 size 1, 595 size 2, and 805 size 3. That totals to 2,457 diapers for just the first year. I looked up diaper prices on Amazon and those diapers would cost you $675.92. That is just for the first year! I don't know of any 12-month-olds who are potty trained so in the whole diapering career you will probably spend at least $1,500 in diapers alone. This doesn't include wipes, diaper genies, or trash bags for all those diapers, just the diapers themselves.

Cloth diapers cost anywhere from $6 or $7 to $20 or $25 new and can be bought pre-loved for much less. Let's say you spend an average of $15 per diaper (you can do it for much, much cheaper but for argument's sake). You need about 24 diapers. Again, you can do it even cheaper if you want to do laundry more often but this is average. This comes out to $360. Over $1,000 savings and that is if you have just one child. You can use cloth diapers for multiple children just like an infant swing, crib, or clothes. For 2 children you will save almost $2,700 and for 3 children you will save over $4,000 by using cloth instead of disposables. After you are done with your cloth diapers, they can be sold which would add to the savings even more.

Cloth diapering is better for the environment

It is estimated that 27.4 billion disposable diapers are used every year in the US. Of these, 26.6 billion will end up in a landfill. No one really knows how long it will take for a disposable diaper to decompose but it is estimated between 250-500 years. That means that if we started counting today, in 250 years there would be 6.5 trillion disposable diapers in the landfills, and that is only in America. Worldwide would be even more.  There have been many efforts to try and recycle disposable diapers, all of which have been unsuccessful.

Disposable diapers make 60 times more solid waste and use 20 times more raw materials than cloth diapers. It is estimated that 200,000 trees are lost each year making disposable diapers just for the babies in the US. There are also many dangerous chemicals in disposable diapers that are leaking into the environment that I will discuss below.

Cloth diapers use materials such as bamboo and hemp which are highly sustainable resources. They can be used for multiple children making the impact even smaller. Many cloth users will repurpose their diapers for other uses when their little ones potty train if they choose not to sell. A lot of inserts make great cleaning cloths and even a washable pad for your Swiffer! They can take the place of paper towels as well, saving even more resources.

Cloth diapering is safer for your baby

Disposable diapers contain many nasty chemicals that can affect your babies health for the rest of their life. Dioxins are created from the bleaching process and are known harmful carcinogens. The EPA has said they are one of the most toxic chemicals known to science. They can harm the immune system, liver function, the reproductive system, nervous system and endocrine system. Another chemical found in diapers is sodium polyacrylate. This is the absorbent part of the diaper that keeps it from leaking. They used to be used in tampons but were legally taken out because it was found to be a toxic chemical. So too toxic for women but not for babies? That doesn't make much sense. TBT is found in most disposable diapers. It is used to kill infecting organisms. It does not degrade so when the water becomes polluted with it, the fish absorb it and then we ingest it when eating the fish. Research done by the American Institute of Biological Science has found that TBT also promotes the growth of fat cells.

Research has also been done concluding that the lining of disposable diapers causes them to trap heat. This is especially a problem for boys. The diaper can cause their sexual organs to overheat which is thought to cause infertility and ED later in life.

Cloth diapers have also been shown to cause fewer diaper rashes. There are fabrics that are naturally moisture wicking so it has a stay dry feel. There are no chemicals to irritate baby's skin. These factors combined make keeping your baby rash-free much easier.

So how about it? Are you ready to dive into cloth diapering? Look for my next few posts where I will go into more detail about cloth diapering and how you can make it work for your family!

Check out my other cloth diapering posts
TYPES OF CLOTH DIAPERS
CLOTH DIAPERING: FLATS, PREFOLDS, INSERTS, BOOSTERS, AND LINERS...WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE

Leave any questions in the comments down below and I will be sure to answer back or create a whole post on the topic!