Cloth Diaper FAQ

Why use cloth diapers?

They are better for your baby
Babies who wear cloth diapers get far fewer diaper rashes than babies who wear disposable diapers. Many parents who switch to cloth from disposables, switch because of a problem with diaper rashes. The chemicals in disposable diapers can irritate baby’s skin and may be dangerous. Sodium polyacrylate, the absorbent little gel beads you may find on your baby’s bottom when using disposable diapers, was banned from use in tampons in 1985 because of its link to toxic shock syndrome.

To learn more about potential health effects for your child, read these studies. Finally cloth diapers are more comfortable for your baby since they are softer and more breathable. The same way adults prefer cotton to plastic underwear.

I only know a few people personally who also use cloth diapers and I think that I influenced their decision to try it. I love it. It’s kind of an addiction as strange as that sounds to non-cloth diapering people… let alone people who don’t even have kids! It makes me feel like I’m doing my part with the whole reduce,reuse, recycle thing.

They are cute
Cloth diapers have more colors, prints, and styles to choose from. There are even cloth diapers with lace sewn on that can be worn under dresses. They are also softer to the touch for you and your baby.

They are convenient
Cloth diapers are convenient?! Yes! You will never need to make a special trip to the store to buy more diapers. You will have less trash to take out (disposable diapers make up 1/3 the trash volume in the average household that uses these diapers). You will likely have less diaper rashes to treat. And finally, cloth diapered children potty train an average of six months earlier than disposable diapered children, leaving you changing diapers for a shorter time.

They are better for the environment
The environmental impact of using cloth diapers in water usage is equivalent to the water a potty trained person uses flushing the toilet. While you may have heard of studies that showed the environmental impact of disposables and cloth to be about the same, these studies were paid for by Procter & Gamble (the makers of Pampers & Luvs). Disposable clothes would be no worse for the environment than washable ones according to this logic. Here are some disposable diaper statistics.

More than 18 billion disposable diapers enter landfills every year. No one knows for sure but it is estimated that each diaper takes 500 years to decompose. It takes over a million tons of wood pulp and 80,000 tons of plastic, to manufacture disposable diapers every year. You can feel good about not contributing to this waste in your child’s environment.

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