After Sonny was born I spoke with my father on the phone and I remember telling him, "Geez, diapers sure are expensive!" Aware of my less than solvent financial status he smuglly replied, "Well, you'll probably have to use cloth diapers...that's probably what all the poor people use down there." I defensively responded to his remark, "huh! I'm not using cloth diapers. That's gross." I didn't want to think I was that poor or that old-fashioned...I was going to stand by my disposable diapers. I mean that is modern right... disposable diapers!?!?
Later I was to find out that it takes 500 years for diapers to biodegrade. So, previously I had thought that cloth diapers were gross...but after learning this my thinking immediately shifted...this takes the crown - that is just the grossest concept ever. I mean...MY diapers are sitting in a landfill somwhere right now...and they will be there for another 470 something years. In addition, I was also noticing this overly fragrant disguisting perfume reeking from my baby's disposable diaper. Of course this is to cover-up the toxic smell of these toxic diapers. Let me break some information down for you about disposable diapers and health concerns....
Ok, so these disposable diapers contain dyes, sodium polyacrylate (the super absorbent gel), and dioxin, which is a by-product of bleaching paper. According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) some of the dyes and dioxin that is used in the diapers has been shown to cause damage to the central nervous system, kidneys, and the liver. Sodium polyacrylate has been linked in the past to toxic shock syndrome and allergic reactions. It is potentially lethal to pets and for sure very harmful. And what about those gross, pungent fragrances I was talking about? Well, those can cause headaches, dizziness and rashes. But, wait...there is more! Reports from The Consumer Protection Agency include such terrible things from these diapers as chemical burns, noxious chemical and insecticide odors, plastic melting onto the skin, and ink staining the skin. Modern right?
Ok, Now let's talk about disposable versus cloth and the Environment: With Disposables approximately 5 million tons of untreated waste and a total of 2 billion tons of urine, feces, plastic and paper are added to landfills annually. 80,000 pounds of plastic and over 200,000 trees a year are used to make disposables for babies in the United States alone. Think about the rest of the world too. Now, some disposables claim to be biodegradable but oxygen and sunlight are required for the decomposition process which is seemingly impossible if you know what a landfill looks like. The diapers would have to be on top of the heap of trash to decompose. The untreated waste placed in landfills by dirty disposable diapers is a danger to contaminating ground water! Ewwww.... The estimate is that one baby in disposable diapers will contribute at least 1 ton of waste to your local landfill. Oh yeah... and you can save a lot of money by using cloth diapers!
These new cloth diapers are amazing, modern, well-designed, earth-friendly, without toxins, and nearly as easy as a disposable! These are NOTHING like the ones your Granny was in. The diapers that I am ordering are the Bum Genius 3.0 All-in-one which comes in a variety of colors and the Osocozy All-in-one, a cheaper alternative. They are a rather expensive investment at first but they will save you money in the long run. Many cloth diapers are adjustable and will fit the baby from 7-35 pounds. The BumGenius 3.0 will fit them from the time they start wearing diapers until the time they finish and you don't have to add diaper inserts or an external waterproof barrier to either of these options. These diapers make me wish I was in diapers! I've also switched to using re-usable "butt wipes." Again, these save a lot of money and they are very safe. A great thing to use is bamboo wipes, since bamboo is ultra-soft and a very renewable resource.
Also, if you chose to use cloth diapers -- maybe you don't have to use cloth diapers all the time, maybe just part time and think of the difference that you can make! I know when I travel on a plane there is no way Sonny will be in cloth diapers, but that is the only time I plan on having him in disposables from now on.
Later I was to find out that it takes 500 years for diapers to biodegrade. So, previously I had thought that cloth diapers were gross...but after learning this my thinking immediately shifted...this takes the crown - that is just the grossest concept ever. I mean...MY diapers are sitting in a landfill somwhere right now...and they will be there for another 470 something years. In addition, I was also noticing this overly fragrant disguisting perfume reeking from my baby's disposable diaper. Of course this is to cover-up the toxic smell of these toxic diapers. Let me break some information down for you about disposable diapers and health concerns....
Ok, so these disposable diapers contain dyes, sodium polyacrylate (the super absorbent gel), and dioxin, which is a by-product of bleaching paper. According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) some of the dyes and dioxin that is used in the diapers has been shown to cause damage to the central nervous system, kidneys, and the liver. Sodium polyacrylate has been linked in the past to toxic shock syndrome and allergic reactions. It is potentially lethal to pets and for sure very harmful. And what about those gross, pungent fragrances I was talking about? Well, those can cause headaches, dizziness and rashes. But, wait...there is more! Reports from The Consumer Protection Agency include such terrible things from these diapers as chemical burns, noxious chemical and insecticide odors, plastic melting onto the skin, and ink staining the skin. Modern right?
Ok, Now let's talk about disposable versus cloth and the Environment: With Disposables approximately 5 million tons of untreated waste and a total of 2 billion tons of urine, feces, plastic and paper are added to landfills annually. 80,000 pounds of plastic and over 200,000 trees a year are used to make disposables for babies in the United States alone. Think about the rest of the world too. Now, some disposables claim to be biodegradable but oxygen and sunlight are required for the decomposition process which is seemingly impossible if you know what a landfill looks like. The diapers would have to be on top of the heap of trash to decompose. The untreated waste placed in landfills by dirty disposable diapers is a danger to contaminating ground water! Ewwww.... The estimate is that one baby in disposable diapers will contribute at least 1 ton of waste to your local landfill. Oh yeah... and you can save a lot of money by using cloth diapers!
These new cloth diapers are amazing, modern, well-designed, earth-friendly, without toxins, and nearly as easy as a disposable! These are NOTHING like the ones your Granny was in. The diapers that I am ordering are the Bum Genius 3.0 All-in-one which comes in a variety of colors and the Osocozy All-in-one, a cheaper alternative. They are a rather expensive investment at first but they will save you money in the long run. Many cloth diapers are adjustable and will fit the baby from 7-35 pounds. The BumGenius 3.0 will fit them from the time they start wearing diapers until the time they finish and you don't have to add diaper inserts or an external waterproof barrier to either of these options. These diapers make me wish I was in diapers! I've also switched to using re-usable "butt wipes." Again, these save a lot of money and they are very safe. A great thing to use is bamboo wipes, since bamboo is ultra-soft and a very renewable resource.
Also, if you chose to use cloth diapers -- maybe you don't have to use cloth diapers all the time, maybe just part time and think of the difference that you can make! I know when I travel on a plane there is no way Sonny will be in cloth diapers, but that is the only time I plan on having him in disposables from now on.
Check out these websites for the most posh diapers imaginable....
http://www.justkidsstore.com/ for the BumGenius diapers and the BumGenius bamboo butt wipes (the wipes are on sale right now too :)
http://www.clothdiaper.com/ for the OsoCozy Fitted Organic Cotton Diapers. The Organic ones run about 11$ a peice and regular cotton are a bit cheaper.
http://www.gdiapers.com/ - This link was just given to me by a friend on facebook. They are awesome too! Check it out!! They offer cloth diapers and 100% biodegradable FLUSHABLE diapers. So you know the sewage is going in the sewage!
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