Between Hybrid cars, bio-diesel, reusable shopping bags and organic produce, most people are trying to find little ways they can help the environment. The easiest and most effective little change that most parents are finding is the switch back to cloth diapers. I’ll admit, when I first talked to a mom who was using them, I thought it was disgusting, and I was pretty sure she was a hippie. Over the next year, as my daughter and Huggies bill grew, I kept thinking about her and the tiny change she had made for our planet. How tiny of a change was it? What was so great about these “Fuzzi Bunz” she raved about? Could I (gulp) do it too?

Switch for the Environment~

The average baby goes through 6,000 diapers in its first 2 years, and those diapers (and the poo within) will sit in a landfill for anywhere from 250-500 years before they decompose. The diapers themselves are full of toxins even before they are filled up by baby. Disposable diapers have dioxin (a cancer causing toxin banned in most countries, but not the US), and Tributyl-tin (a pollutant linked to hormonal problems in humans). Over 300 pounds of wood, 20 pounds of chlorine and 50 pounds of petroleum feed stocks are used to produce the disposable diapers for one baby of one year.

Switch for the money! ~

At .23 c a diaper, and 3,000 diapers a year, we were spending $690 a year on diapers. The price we paid for 12 cloth diapers (about the average amount) was just under $200. And what’s 2 extra loads of wash a week? A whopping total of $115 a year. (Including water, detergent, electric and gas cost)

Switch because everyone else is doing it! ~

Samantha, the lovely CEM of MommyAuctions uses G-Diapers! And among the lovers of Fuzzi Bunz you will find, me, Angela Bassett, Anna Belknap, Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams Paisley, and other cloth diaper lovers include Madonna, Dave Matthews and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Still not convinced? Take into account the family created by Dana Thatch and her partner Allison in Fresno, Ca: They had 7 children already (2 biological and 5 adopted with special needs) when they added newborn quadruplets last September; and at 70 diapers a day, their lives are much easier and their budget healthier with cloth diapers in the house! (Fuzzi Bunz to be exact!)

What can I do if I’m not ready to switch?

There’s a lot you can do to reduce the effects on the environment, without switching to cloth! A simple thing like shaking the poo into the toilet makes a HUGE difference to our landfills. The instructions on most disposable diapers include this step, yet as of now only ½% of all fecal matter ends up in the sewer where it can be treated. You can also use the Seventh Generation disposable diapers, or other chlorine and dioxin free brands to cut down on the health risk.
..Stay Tuned!

Over the next few weeks, I will be profiling the different types of cloth diapers, All-in-one’s, Pocket Diapers, and Hybrid cloth-flushables!

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This entry was posted on Friday, January 18th, 2008 at 5:15 am and is filed under Money Savers, Celebrity Mamas & Babies, Good to Know, Product Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.