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Introduction to Cloth Diapering
Cloth Diapers of today are better for your baby, better for the planet and easier
on your wallet. They're cute and come in colors, styles and prices to fit
every family!
Here, you will find facts to support your choice to cloth diaper your baby.
In class, we will discuss types of cloth diapers, how many you will need and
how to launder them! If you have any questions, during class or after,
please ask!
Why choose Cloth Diapers?
Health
Disposable diapers contain traces of the carcinogenic toxin, Dioxin.
The EPA lists Dioxin as the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals.
Dioxin is banned in most countries, but not the U.S.
Disposables contain Sodium Polyacrylate, a type of super absorbent polymer (SAP).
SAP was banned from tampons due to links to toxic shock syndrome.
Environment
An estimated 27.4 billion disposable diapers are consumed every year in the U.S.
A single disposable diaper may take 250-500 years to decompose.
Over 92% of all single-use disposable diapers end up in a landfill.
Cost
Americans spend about 7 billion dollars on disposable diapers every year.
The cost of cloth diapering is about one-tenth the cost of buying disposables.
It feels better and it's FUN!
Cloth diaper covers come in a rainbow of colors and a variety of cute prints.
Cloth diapers are soft against baby's skin!
Many cloth diapers now do a remarkable job of keeping baby feeling dry!
To learn more, or to see the research behind these claims, please visit: www.realdiaperassociation.org
There are so many reasons to choose cloth diapers. Cloth diapers are soft against your baby's skin. Cloth diapers are also free of the many chemicals contained in disposable diapers. Our common sense tells us that cloth diapers are the ultimate in recycling because they are used again and again, not entering a landfill until they are nothing but rags. Of course, some people want more than this common sense approach--they want facts. Here are a few well-documented facts to help inform your choice. Consider your baby's health… Dioxin is the extremely toxic chemical by-product of the paper-bleaching process, using chlorine gas, in the manufacturing of disposable diapers. - Disposable diapers contain traces of Dioxin, a carcinogenic chemical. - The EPA lists Dioxin as the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals. - Dioxin is banned in most countries, but not the U.S..1 Tributyl-tin (TBT) is a toxic pollutant found in disposable diapers. - It is known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals.2 Sodium Polyacrylate is a type of super absorbent polymer (SAP), which is found in disposable diapers. It becomes a gel-like substance when wet. - This chemical can cause skin irritations and severe allergic reactions including vomiting, staph infections and fever. - SAP was banned from tampons in 1985 due to links to toxic shock syndrome.3 Spermatogenesis In May 2000, the Archives of Disease in Childhood published research showing that scrotal temperature is increased in boys wearing disposable diapers, and that prolonged use of disposable diapers will blunt or completely abolish the physiological testicular cooling mechanism important for normal spermatogenesis.18I Renewable, Recyclable, Reusable An estimated 27.4 billion disposable diapers are consumed every year in the U.S.13 Over 300 pounds of wood, 50 pounds of petroleum feedstocks and 20 pounds of chlorine are used to produce disposable diapers for ONE baby EACH year.6 The instructions on a disposable diaper package advice that all fecal matter should be deposited in the toilet before discarding, yet less than one half of one percent of all waste from single-use diapers goes into the sewage system.4 No one knows how long it takes for a disposable diaper to decompose, but it is estimated to be about 250-500 years, long after your children, grandchildren and great, great, great grandchildren will be gone.5 Disposable diapers are the third largest single consumer item in landfills. In a house with a child in diapers, disposables make up 50% of household waste.5 Disposable diapers generate sixty times more solid waste and use twenty times more raw materials, like crude oil and wood pulp.3 The manufacture and use of disposable diapers amounts to 2.3 times more water wasted than cloth.3 In 1991, an attempt towards recycling disposable diapers was made in the city of Seattle, involving 800 families, 30 day care centers, a hospital and a Seattle-based recycler for a period of one year. The conclusion made by Procter & Gamble was that recycling disposable diapers was not an economically feasible task on any scale.17 Consider the costs… We estimate that each baby will need about 6,000 diapers7 during the first two8 years of life. Disposables. For these calculations, let's assume that a family needs about 60 diapers a week. Disposable diapers cost roughly 23˘ per store-brand diaper and 28˘ for name-brand. This averages to 25.5˘ per diaper. Thus the average child will cost about $1600 to diaper for two years in disposable diapers, or about $66 a month9. Diaper Services. Subscribing to a diaper services costs between $13 and $17 each week depending on how many diapers a family decides to order. Let's assume the family spends roughly $15 a week for 60 diapers a week. This equals $780 annually and averages to $65 a month. Over the course of two years, the family will spend about $1500 per baby, roughly the same cost as disposables, depending on what type of covers are purchased and what type of wipes are used. If one adds in the cost of disposable wipes for either diapering system, the costs increase. Cloth Diapers. For cloth diapering, each family will probably need about 6 dozen diapers10. The cost of cloth diapering can vary considerably, from as low as $300 for a basic set-up of prefolds and covers11, to $1000 or more for organic cotton fitted diapers and wool covers. Despite this large price range, it should be possible to buy a generous mix of prefolds and diaper covers for about $300, most of which will probably last for two children. This means the cost of cloth diapering is about one tenth the cost of disposables12, and you can spend even less by using found objects (old towels & T-shirts). 1 Allsopp, Michelle. Achieving Zero Dioxin: An emergency strategy for dioxin elimination. September 1994. Greenpeace. http://archive.greenpeace.org/toxics/reports/azd/azd.html 2 Greenpeace. New Tests Confirm TBT Poison in Procter & Gamble's Pampers: Greenpeace Demands World-Wide Ban of Organotins in All Products. 15 May 2000. http://archive.greenpeace.org/pressreleases/toxics/2000may152.html 3 The Landbank Consultancy Limited. A Review of Proctor & Gamble's Environmental Balances for Disposable and Re-useable Nappies. July 1991. 4 Lehrburger, Carl. 1988. Diapers in the Waste Stream: A review of waste management and public policy issues. 1988. Sheffield, MA: self-published. 5 Link, Ann. Disposable nappies: a case study in waste prevention. April 2003. Women's Environmental Network. 6 Lehrburger, C., J. Mullen and C.V. Jones. 1991. Diapers: Environmental Impacts and Lifecycle Analysis. Philadelphia, PA: Report to The National Association of Diaper Services (NADS). 7 Average of 8 changes per day over 2 years (8x365x2=5,840) 8 We are using 2 as the average age of transition from diapers to toilet use. 9 60x52x$0.255=$795.60, or $800. $800x2years=$1,600. $1,600÷24=$66 per month. 10 3 dozen each in two sizes accommodates most babies 11 6 dozen prefolds at an average of $2.16 each and 16 covers at $8.50 each ((72x$2.16)+(12x$8.50)=$292) 12 $300÷2 children = $150 per child. Compare to $1,600 per child for disposables 13 8.8 million x 60 x 52 = 27.4 billion 14 Cloth diapering is 90% cheaper. 90% of $7 billion is $6.3 billion. 15 Food costs calculated at $2,475 per child per year or $6.78 per child per day for 3 meals and 2 snacks. Costs based on U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, Child and Adult Care Food Program. Figures current as of July 2003. http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Care/CACFP/cacfpfaqs.htm 16 Percent of People in Poverty by Definition of Income and Selected Characteristics: 2002 (Revised). http://www.census.gov/hhes/poverty/poverty02/r&dtable5.html 17Stone, Janis and Sternweis, Laura. Consumer Choice -- Diaper Dilemma. Iowa Sate University - University Extension. ID.# 1401. 1994. http://www.rockwellcollins.com/daycare/pdf/pm1401.pdf 18C-J Partsch, M Aukamp, W G Sippell Scrotal temperature is increased in disposable plastic lined nappies. Division of Paediatric Endocrinology, Department of Paediatrics, Christian-Albrechts- University of Kiel, Schwanenweg 20, D-24105 Kiel, Germany. Arch Dis Child 2000;83:364-368.