Why the Cloth?

"I could never use cloth diapers, all that work!!" We've heard this again and again, but the modern cloth diapering world is so packed full of parent/baby ingenuity that it has really become quite convenient, economical,ecological, and HEALTHIER!!!

I have to state health issues first; I've just read too many negative things about disposable diapers to not state them. First of all - the gel that absorbs all that "pee" inside the disposable is called sodium polyacrylate. The "crystals" of sodium polyacrylate is what you will find periodically on your baby's bottom if you use disposables. This is the same substance that was removed from the Rely tampon (late '70's,early '80's) because of its connection with TSS(toxic shock syndrome) in women, and it is now in disposable diapers. Also, dioxin is another well-known chemical residue found in disposable diapers. This results from the bleaching process, and is a highly toxic environmental pollutant and immune system-depressing carcinogen. I just don't want these chemicals constantly touching my baby's reproductive organs for the first 2 1/2 years or more of his life. Cloth diapers are an incredibly safe alternative. The "bleached" chinese prefolds are peroxide-bleached, so no chlorine gases being released into the environment & no dioxin residue.

Now for the ecological issues. We are filling up our landfills at an alarming rate, and disposable diapers are contributing enormously. The average baby will go thru approx. 7500 changes in their diapering lifetime. We can either choose to throw all those disposable diapers into the landfills, or we can invest in 36 - 60 cloth diapers that we are able to reuse throughout the entire diapering period. Landfills were not designed with human feces in mind, and in many locations it is illegal to dump human waste, but with disposables this is a normal occurence. With cloth diapering, feces are dumped in the toilet and go into the septic system or treatment plant where they are intended. Makes sense to us!

The personal economics of choosing cloth, coupled with home washing, are far superior to choosing disposable. The price breakdown is as follows:

The following calculations are based on 7500 diaper changes over 2 1/2 years. Your baby will need to be changed 9-12 times a day as a newborn and 7-9 times as a toddler. Local costs may vary.

Home Laundering

Diapers - The price of cloth diapers vary considerably depending upon which type and brand of diaper you choose. Using prefold diapers and wraps is generally less than fitted or all in one diapers. An adequate supply of flat diapers and diaper covers will run you about $222. Likewise an adequate supply of fitted diapers is $599 and all-in-ones $699 .

Laundry - for 7500 diaper changes and 24 diapers per wash load = 313 loads. Detergent will run you about $0.26 per load = $81.25; water and sewer, 2 cycles of washing at 40 gallons each at a water cost of $0.007 per gallon = $0.56 per load = $175.28; natural gas to heat the water = 40 cu. ft. at $0.0025/cu. ft. = $0.10 per load = $31.30; electricity to run washer and dryer = $0.45 per load = $140.85; depreciation on washer and dryer = $0.25 per load = $78.25. Total = $506.93.

Total cost = $699 all in one diapers + $506.93 laundry = $1205.93

Total cost = $599 fitted diapers + $506.93 laundry = $1105.93

Total cost = $222 for prefold diapers + $506.93 laundry = $728.93

Disposable diapers have an average price of $.24 a piece. So, let's see... 7500 x .24 = $1800 for disposables. This is not including all of the disposable wipes, that could be replaced by cloth wipes.

So, if thrifty, you can save as much, and probably more, than $1100 on each baby! Not to mention, you can use the same cloth diapering supplies on more than one baby.

Lastly, the new cloth diapering supplies make it easy. Some incredible "work at home" moms and dads have designed beautiful systems that work very well, look good, and are EASY. It feels really good to know that we're supporting "work at home" parents and their products so that they may spend more time at home with their families.