Here are some health reasons to choose cloth diapers:
- Conventional disposables contain traces of Dioxin, a carcinogenic chemical, listed by the EPA as the most toxic of all cancer linked chemicals! Yikes!! It is banned in most countries, but not in the US. That is so sad...
- Conventional disposables contain Trubutyl-tin(TBT) a toxic pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals.
- Chemicals and fragrances in some disposables can cause asthma.
- Studies have shown there is less diaper rash with cloth than with disposables.
I don't know about you, but those are some very compelling reasons to make the switch! There are some "better" options for disposables such as 7th Generation and Nature BabyCare, but those happy little smiling babies in the Huggies commercials are not as safe as they appear.
There are even more Environmental reasons to use cloth diapers:
- Disposable diapers use 2 times as much water to manufacture as cloth.
- Disposables use 3 times more energy than cloth.
- Disposables use 20 times more raw materials than cloth.
- Disposables generate 60 times more waste than cloth.
- Disposables are the 3rd largest single consumer item in landfills. Oh my!!
- No one knows how long it takes for a disposable diaper to decompose, but it is estimated to be about 250-500 years.
Now, granted, you do have to take a little more time to care for cloth diapers, but what benefits there are in the short and long run!! If the reasons I listed above aren't enough to think about switching or at least using some cloth diapers, think of all the money you will save, you frugal parents!!
Look forward to learning about some really awesome cloth diaper options, starting tomorrow!
If anyone has any more benefits of cloth diapering, please share!!
my kids are all understanding of how great cloth diapers are for our world- and teaching them from such a young age is (hopefully)instilling in them a lifelong want to protect our earth!
ReplyDeletei don't know why more people don't cloth diaper! when you read these facts... it's just amazing. i've found that since I started CDing, i've also started to be more conscious of how to be "greener" in other areas of our day-to-day life
ReplyDeletei definitely started out cloth diapering for the environmental aspect. with a side of 'honey, it'll save us money!' and while we're now on kiddo 2 that probably is true, it def wasn't when the cloth bug hit me with out daughter ;-) cloth is cute. insanely cute. my kiddo has kissing mommy/baby whales on his bum, not a paper diego or big bird!
ReplyDeleteI love cloth diapering! I think what most people don't realize is how easy it is to use cloth. You wash them the same as regular laundry just with different soap, every 2 days. Personally, I am completely addicted to cloth diapers. I can't wait to have another baby just so I can increase my cloth diaper "stash". ;)
ReplyDelete