Disposable Diapers Are Better Then Cloth Diapers

Or so someone recently said. This was his reasoning:

*Note, I didn't correct spelling or grammer



1) You do not have to wash disposable diapers.
2) You can save on water and time use to wash cloth diapers.
3) Time will be better spend doing anything else than to wash cloth diapers.
4) You do not have to change your baby clothing because they seldom get wet if they wear disposable diapers.
5) You do not have to worry about getting yourself wet when you carry your baby.
6) You do not have to bring wet cloth diapers back home to wash if you baby wet himself outside. Disposable diapers are more convenience to use when traveling.
7) There is something call diaper rash cream to prevent and heal diaper rash.
8) Large safety pins are dangerous.
9) Double or triple layers cloth diapers are hot for the butts.
10) Disposable diapers leak less.
11) Day care or childcare center do not want to deal with cloth diapers.

I respectfully disagree:

1. You don't have to wash disposable diapers however they are consuming much of our natural resources. 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. Not to mention that at least 1/3C of crude oil goes into one disposable diaper.

2. Cloth diapers today rarely leak, ours are known for not leaking even after extended use.

3. An extra 2 loads of laundry a week equals less water used then a potty trained child flushing the toilet 5 times a day.

4. When you make the decision to become a parent you are also making a decision to dedicate time to raise your child. Changing and laundering diapers are a part of that.

5. You don't have to change the baby with cloth either.

6. You do have to bring wet diapers home, I'll give you that one. I do travel with cloth diapers and it's not an issue.

7. Diaper rash cream has it's purpose but why put extra chemicals on babies skin when the issue was most likely caused by chemicals on babies skin.


8. Cloth diapers today do not use safety pins, they are available with an aplix closure, snap closure or a snappy which is a plastic doohickie that fastens diapers.

9. Babies sweat more with disposable diapers because the plastic outer heats up the entire diaper. Depends on the type but generally cloth diapers are far more breathable.

10. That's completely untrue and redundant.

11. That is not true of all day cares, some will only take cloth.

Have You Been "Greenwashed"?

Currently worldwide Green is the key word that companies are eager to demonstrate. I stumbled upon this article this morning and was motivated to stand up and say something:

The average citizen is finding it more and more difficult to tell the difference between those companies genuinely dedicated to making a difference and those that are using a green curtain to conceal dark motives. Consumers are constantly bombarded by corporate campaigns touting green goals, programs, and accomplishments. Even when corporations voluntarily strengthen their record on the environment, they often use multi-million dollar advertising campaigns to exaggerate these minor improvements as major achievements.

Sometimes, not even the intentions are genuine. Some companies, when forced by legislation or a court decision to improve their environmental track record, promote the resulting changes as if they had taken the step voluntarily. And at the same time that many corporations are touting their new green image (and their CEOs are giving lectures on corporate ecological ethics), their lobbyists are working night and day in Washington to gut environmental protections.

To read the full article click here.

Are you tired of seeing the words, Green, Eco, Bio, Natural and Environmentally Friendly in association with products that common sense tells you are most certainly NOT?

I am.

According to Wikipedia:

Greenwashing is a term describing the deceptive use of green PR or green marketing in order to promote a misleading perception that a company's policies or products are environmentally friendly. The term green sheen has similarly been used to describe organizations that attempt to show that they are adopting practices beneficial to the environment.

A new survey suggests that over 95% of all companies claiming to be green are guilty of at least one count of greenwashing. The upside is that 5% of companies claiming to be green actually are. I can say that we are one of them :)

You can avoid being Greenwashed.

1. Look at labels.
For example: If a product claims to be recycled - the company must list the recycled content percentage. If a cleaning product claims to be green it may be that just the packaging is green. You want the product to be: Biodegradable, phosphate free, chlorine free, bleach free and scented with natural oils or fragrances.

2. Look for the country of origin.
There are several reasons to see where your product was manufactured. One reason is that if it was made outside the USA or Canada you want to make sure it has a "Fair Trade" label. Fair trade doesn't equate environmental responsibility but it does mean that children weren't making your product. Another reason to check the country of origin, especially when using creams and supplements, is that other countries do not have the same health and safety guidelines which are enforced in the USA and Canada. Do you really want to use a face cream that was made in Asia, quick and cheap, without the USA Health Codes? Oftentimes big companies who buy such products to sell here do not do their due diligence. Just a warning...

3. Food products must be labeled.
Organic food products will be labeled "USDA Organic" if they are truly organic.

4. Use common sense
If a product is disposable, even if it's organic, it should be biodegradable or compostable if it's truly green. If you look at a product and think, "how in the world can this be environmentally friendly" - chances are that it's not.

How did people wipe their butts before toilet paper?

I have been thinking about what I can do about the excessive toilet paper use in my house. With 6 kids and my nephew here 5 days a week, we go through at least a roll every other day. One of my girls-who will remain nameless-believes that her butt is never clean enough and therefore uses half a roll wiping herself. I finally told her to go get a washcloth and wash her butt after she pooped. That is working for now.

The bigger problem is the actual waste of resources and money. I am convinced that toilet paper is bad for the septic system, our bodies and the planet. So I did a little digging...

An obvious drawback to toilet paper is an issue that I am passionate about in regards to disposable diapers and it never occurred to me that it pertained to toilet paper, derrrrrrrrrr. DIOXIN!!!!!!!!! Dioxins cause cancer, learning disorders, decreased immune response, diabetes and all sorts of other nasty problems in the environment.

Sometimes I am so dingy I swear.

As I was searching online for banana leaves or something equally "safe" to wipe our butts on I learned that 424,000 trees would be spared by replacing a 500-sheet roll of virgin fiber toilet paper with recycled toilet paper.


When shopping for earth friendly toilet paper look for statements such as "unbleached", "processed chlorine-free" or "totally chlorine free" otherwise they might slip some dioxin in on the down low.

This is all great and informative but I want to know what alternatives we have to toilet paper. Seriously, how gross is it to keep stacks of rags in the bathroom and just throw them in the diaper pail after using them? I could handle it. The kids could get used to it. Chuck would grump but he'd come around. What would guests think? Do I care? Hmmmmmmmmmmm.....

I am going to do a little experiment. When I switched my family from paper towels and napkins to cloth, I just said we ran out and use a rag. They are now so used to rags as napkins and paper towels that no one has asked in months when I am going to purchase some paper ones. I wonder if I can pull the same trick with toilet paper.

I am going to try, stay tuned for an update.