One of my LolliDoo™ FaceBook Fans said that she had converted to cloth diapers because she read somewhere that it took 2 cups of crude oil to make a disposable diaper. I decided to do some digging on my own.
According to the Real Diaper Association: 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.
gDiapers states that there is approximately 1/3 cup of crude oil in each disposable diaper, while Hip Green Baby asserts that it's closer to 1 cup.
I searched both the Kimberly Clark and Procter and Gamble websites and surprisingly they didn't have anything published regarding the amount of crude oil used to manufacture disposable diapers.
I did find this well illustrated slide show that follows a disposable diaper from creation to trash on scribd.com.
I also just read that disposable diaper prices will be going up. Read Here.
I am still unclear on exactly how much oil is used in the production of disposable diapers, however I am certain that cloth diapers win on this one.
