Diaper Choices – Plastic Disposable, Cloth, or Hybrid?
Date: Friday February 13, 2009Posted in: celebrity diapers
All this talk about diaper bags is because, well, you’re going to be putting diapers in them. And a more common debate in the last few years among couples has been to question what type of diaper to actually use. There are traditional plastic disposables, there are the old traditional cloth diapers, and there are now new hybrids which combine an outer cloth or more permanent diaper with a disposable inner material.
I read a statistic recently that stated over 1% of all trash in landfills is disposable diapers. Is that something or what? Here are some other interesting facts to note: Over 27 BILLION disposables are used just in the US alone per year. According to Wikipedia, that translates to a possible 3.4 million tons of used diapers that go into landfills every year. Hmm. That’s not a pretty thought now is it.
It’s also known that the plastics, sticky tabs and chemicals used in the disposables can irritate a baby’s skin. So there are clearly multiple issues to think about for those who want to make an educated choice. What are the best choices for new mothers considering all this information?
Cloth diapers have the advantage of being washable and thus reusable. They are typically made of thicker cotton, or more recent offerings also have hemp and bamboo. The baby will have no real reaction to such a diaper. The drawbacks to some parents are that the cloth diapers will require more changing, as the material simply won’t absorb as much waste as the shaped plastics. Though, some parents may see that as a plus, because the diapers are not really a personal toilet. They probably should be changed and washed as soon as they are ‘used’ , eh? The other drawback from an environmental perspective is that a lot more detergent will be used. And thus more chemical waste into the environment. Although in reality, my guess is that this is still a substantially better environmental alternative that endless amounts of plastic used diaper balls sitting in a field.
Should you be interested in going fully natural and retro with traditional cloth diapers, be sure to know about all your options. There are many different strategies to keeping them clean on a consistent basis which you can research. Ways that can minimize your laundry time and still keep diapering efficient for you and the baby.
An interesting alternative for the parent now is the so-called hybrid diaper. A couple brands exist at this time. One known as g diaper has a flushable inner liner with a reusable shell. The flushable piece degrades in water (though with the help of your ’swishstick’ usage to break it up a bit before the flush). 7th Generation also has a diaper that really is more in the disposable category. However, they are much less material than a typical plastic diaper, have none of the chemical irritants or fragrances, and therefore when disposed, will take up less room and do less harm with chemical leaching into the ground.
So choices abound now for those who want to think a bit more about what is going into and out of their diaper bags. And ultimately what is going (and staying) in our environment.
