This week the question posed to Green Moms Weekly is “What do you say to people who can’t wrap their head around the cloth diapering phenomena? Give some simple and positive examples of how cloth diapering can benefit both mom and baby.”

I decided to cloth diaper my second baby in late 2003, before she was even born. I spent 4 months researching cloth like crazy and putting together my newborn stash. When I told friends and family of my intentions all I got were incredulous looks or an eye roll as if to say they didn’t believe I would stick with it for more than a day. You would have thought I told them I was planning on taking the dirty diapers to a nearby river and beating them against rocks. It was just an insane idea to them but I did not let them deter me from my decision. When I brought my daughter home from the hospital I immediately put her in a Kissaluvs fitted diaper and a wool diaper cover. I have since tried dozens upon dozens of different cloth diapers but I still think Kissaluvs and wool covers would be my go to diapering system for the newborn months. After a couple months we had fun playing with designer diapers, all-in-ones, pockets, and all manner of custom diapers sewn by wahm seamstresses. I also started making my own diapers right after she was born. Let’s just say that she had more than enough diapers in every color, design, and fabric known to man I think. Want to see some that I made? Check out my flickr set here.

And what did the naysayers think? I think they were green with jealousy at how much fun I seemed to be having and how adorable my two youngest babes looked in their diapers.

Here are a few of the benefits of cloth diapering for mom and baby:

Cloth is Healthy – Disposable diapers are loaded with chemicals that can irritate baby’s skin and cause rashes. It also doesn’t help that the baby’s bum is wrapped in plastic either. While I cannot say that we never experienced rashes in cloth diapers I can say that I think we experienced less of them. Cloth allows the skin to breathe and you aren’t exposing it to petro chemicals, perfumes, and all the other nasties in disposables.

Cloth is Fun – I had sooooo much fun making and buying diapers as well as putting them on my babies. My kiddos usually wore no pants because who wants to cover up that gorgeousness? Perhaps this is why my youngest still can stand to wear pants? LOL. Regardless, most moms find it fun to dress their little ones up in cute clothing and using cloth diapers ups the fun factor ten times. Can moms who use disposables claim to have as much changing diapers as us cloth diaper moms? I think not.

Cloth is Affordable – Disposable diaper purchases usually total 2 to 3 thousand dollars from birth to the potty learning. Cloth diapers done on the cheap can cost $300-$400 for the same period of time. Designer diapers may cost around $800 or more but still, much cheaper than disposables. Cheaper diapers include prefolds, fitteds, and covers made of recycled wool sweaters. Fitted diapers and prefold diapers can even be made using old t-shirts and blankets if you really want to keep it cheap. This would of course be a very green way to go as well.

Slightly more expensive would be all-in-one diapers, pockets, and various designer diapers. It is not unusual to pay $15-$20 or more per diaper but these can last years, for more than one child, and they usually can be sized to fit newborns and older babes alike. Some scoff at the price of cloth diapers but do you want to pay for a reusable diaper that can be passed on to subsequent babies or even resold used … or do you want to spend thousands of dollars on something that is used once and then thrown in the garbage? The answer seems like a no brainer to me.

Cloth is Green – Reusable products are greener than disposables. Period. Whenever you see an industry funded study
that proclaims there is no ecological difference between cloth and disposable remember what they are actually trying to sell. Well, yes they are trying to sell disposable diapers but they are also trying to sell a ludicrous idea. If someone told you that it would be greener if we all wear disposable panties and underwear instead of washing what we have and reusing them we would think they were nuts. Cloth diapers are underwear for babies. Washing and reusing diapers makes good sense and it is greener by far.

I could keep going but I think I have hit the major benefits. Do you have any to add?

Also be sure to check out what Carrie and Rachel had to say on the topic.

Related: The Green Diaper Smackdown

 If you are looking for a safe, non-toxic cleaner and overall household helper, white vinegar is a near perfect solution. This humble substance can be used in a variety of ways to clean and disinfect your home. I love to fill my sink with hot water, pour in some vinegar and a cloth rag, and give the house a through cleaning. I love the smell and wish it would last longer… it just smells so clean without the smell of noxious chemicals. Here are some ideas for how to use vinegar in your cleaning.

1. Deodorizer

Vinegar can help remove odors from clothes and drains. For drains, pour about 1 cupful of baking soda into the smelly drain. Then pour in about 2 cups of vinegar and leave overnight. In the morning, flush with hot water.

For removing odors from clothes, add 1/4 cup of white vinegar and 1/4 cup of baking soda to your laundry. You can add this at the beginning of the wash cycle or during the rinse cycle. This mixture has a fabric-softening effect as well. I also used to add a 1/4 cup to my cloth diaper laundry to remove any lingering smell. Worked like a charm.

2. Drain Clog Remover

In addition to eliminating drain odors, vinegar can help unclog drains. Follow the steps in #1 above. The foaming action dislodges many clogs.

3. Toilet Cleaner

To clean and disinfect your toilet bowl, sprinkle in about a cup of baking soda. Then pour in 2-3 cups of white vinegar. You will find your kids more willing to help you clean if it involves a fizzy toilet! Seriously, they will ask if they can clean the toilet. When the fizzing dies down, use your toilet brush to clean as usual. The vinegar inhibits the growth of mold and mildew as well as killing germs.

4. All-Purpose Spray Cleaner

You don’t need to buy chemical spray cleaners. Just mix 1/2 cup of white vinegar with 3 cups of water, 10 drops of tea tree oil, a teaspoon of liquid soap, and 15 drops of your favorite essential oil in a 1-quart spray bottle. Use this disinfectant spray on countertops, sinks, floors, and any surface that needs cleaning.

5. Mold Eradicator

Vinegar is effective against mold. Spray your shower with white vinegar and allow it to soak for about 20 minutes. Then scrub and rinse. Add some tea tree oil to the vinegar for even better effectiveness. Spray your shower after each use to prevent mold from forming again.

For a moldy shower curtain, add a quart of vinegar to the washing machine when you wash the curtain.

6. Weed Killer

Pour or spray white vinegar directly onto weeds. Thoroughly wet the leaves and let the vinegar soak into the ground.

7. Window Cleaner

Mix 1 teaspoon of vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon liquid soap per cup of water. Spray onto windows and wipe thoroughly, or dip a cloth into a bucket of this solution and wipe. Use a squeegee to scrape off the cleaner.

Many great uses and we’ve only scratched the surface! For more check out Vinegar: Over 400 Various, Versatile, and Very Good Uses You’ve Probably Never Thought Of.

Eight years ago if you asked me what type of diaper I would be using on my first child I would have given you a very confused look and said something like “Huh???”.

Nowadays many parents recognize that this question is not so easy anymore. In addition to the variety at the grocery store… Pampers, Huggies, White Cloud… we also have some others to consider. Disposable diapers with fewer chemicals, flushable diapers, and dozens upon dozens of options in cloth diapers abound.

But which is the greenest, healthiest diapering option? I decided to compare them all and see which diapers came out on top.

#6 The Biggest Loser- Disposable Diapers – Scientific studies keep being released that seem to favor disposable diapers in the disposable versus cloth debate, but even I can see the multitude of flaws in their work. It is frustrating as a cloth diaper user to see their generalizations about how much water, soap, or energy we use to launder cloth diapers when it is all so variable. Disposables are the REAL dirty birdy.

Even in the very beginning, disposable diapers are produced in large factories that spew noxious chemicals into the air and nearby waterways. One factory can be unloading as much as 50 million gallons of waste water a day. There is one in a US town I researched a few years ago, that has caused mutations in fish and an awful stench. If the chemicals being used to make your babies diapers can cause genetic mutation in fish should your baby be spending 3 years wearing them? Off gassing from these diapers has already been shown to contribute to respiratory problems like asthma in laboratory animals.

But the story does not end there. How many trees are hazed to make the paper pulp? Huge amounts of energy go into diaper production and then into packaging (wasteful), and then into transportation around the world via truck, plane, and cargo ship. When the diapers reach their respective stores, consumers spend their hard earned money on something that will last a few hours and then be thrown into the garbage. More energy is used to buy and then dispose of diapers and then they will sit, entombed in a landfill for many generations to come. Are you at ease knowing that your baby’s diapers will be around when your great-great-great-great grandchild is born? Yes, disposable diapers are the biggest loser.

#5 Greener disposables – These are a significant improvement over disposables but yet they are still disposable and kind of antithetical to green and sustainable but they are made better and they have fewer harmful chemicals. Seventh Generation, Tushies, and Nature Babycare are some options in this category. These diapers usually have no chlorine bleach in them from bleaching the diaper pulp. The latter two also have no chemical gels that absorb moisture. Nature Babycare diapers would be my top pick in this category.

#4 Diaper Service Cloth Diapers – These are almost tied with the greener disposables. They rank slightly better because they are reusable. They are not without drawbacks though. Diapers services typically wash diapers on HOT several times, using thousands of gallons of water. They also use a lot of chlorine bleach to sterilize and bleach out stains. All of that bleach is not good for our waterways and not good for baby. That said, I have met some small time  diaper service owners who do not use bleach and watch their water usage closely. You will have to call around and ask.

#3 Flushable Diapers – These diapers from gDiapers are a hybrid. They have a disposable inner shell that fits inside a cloth cover. The inner shell though can be dissolved in water and flushed and not thrown into the garbage. The company insists that plumbing and septic tanks can be spared any trouble by doing the flushing procedure correctly. Water treatment facilities are also supposed to be equipped to handle flushing diapers.

gDiapers fans have come out in droves to say that flushable diapers are better than cloth since washing requires so much water but do not be fooled. Many gDiapers users I have talked to indicate that MOST times it takes 2 flushes to flush a gDiaper. The average toilet uses 3.4 gallons of water per flush. If you flush eight diapers that would be almost 55 gallons of water used everyday to flush the toilet. And then you still need to wash the covers. You could do a full load of cloth diapers (12-18ish diapers) using only 40 gallons of water and .3 cents of electricity. It would be even less than that if you have a specialized energy efficient machine. Drying would require more energy but line drying indoors or out is an energy free option. gDiapers are a good option but not as good as the next contender.

#2 Cloth Diapers – These diapers do require energy to make since the material has to be processed. Cotton is often grown with harmful pesticides so that is a potential “cost” to the environment. Energy is also used to launder them although there are so many variables in how you wash diaper laundry that it is hard to come up with hard data, which is why you cannot trust the disposable diaper slanted studies we see. How you you wash, how much, type of washer used, type of soap used, machine drying, line drying, etc, will impact how green your diaper is.

Not all cloth diapers are created equal either. You can avoid supporting pesticide use by buying organic cotton diapers. You can try to avoid synthetic materials. Synthetic materials would be acrylic wool, polyester, most fleeces, and laminates. A large number of cloth diapers use non organic, synthetic materials. Diapers like bumGenius and Fuzzi Bunz would generally fall into that category. This makes them better than most options but not as good as plain old cloth in its simplest form.

If you want the greenest cloth diapers you need to look for organic cotton, hemp, or bamboo. Bamboo though has its own issues I don’t have time to get into here but it requires lots of extra processing. I recommend cotton or hemp before bamboo. For diaper covers the best option is 100% natural wool. There are MANY gorgeous wool diaper covers, soakers, and longies available. You can see some of the longies (right) I got for youngest son’s newborn stash below.

Vegans may have issues with wool but you can buy wool from small family farms that do not mistreat their animals, it is just more expensive. Other than wool I cannot think of another naturally waterproof diaper cover solution.

I think organic cotton prefolds with simple wool covers would be best but fitted diapers really are awesome. I like SwaddleBees Organic Cotton Velour diapers and Ecobaby Absorb-it-alls. For covers I have commissioned hand knit or crocheted covers from wahms. You can find them on Hyena Cart. OR I bought some 100% wool sweaters  from thrift stores and made my own. I also really LOVE Little Beetle Organic Wool Covers.

Natural fibers may be greener but the synthetic fibers are more convenient (waterproof, wicking) and they are less costly. Either is pretty darn green though since they are reusable for one or more children for MANY years. You cannot even compare that to a wear once, throw away, disposable diaper.

#1  Diaper Free – The greenest option is to use elimination communication (EC). It is generally believed that infants have no control over the muscles used in elimination functions. The truth is that a newborn baby does have control over those muscles. Whether baby pees or poops in a diaper or in a container, the baby often does so consciously and deliberately. An observant and in tune parent can work with her baby on the timing and location of those elimination functions. The result is another way to bond with baby and the use of a few less diapers. Tons of parents swear by EC and there are several books written about it including: The Diaper-Free Baby: The Natural Toilet Training Alternative and Diaper-Free Before 3: The Healthier Way to Toilet Train and Help Your Child Out of Diapers Sooner.

What option did I choose? The first time around I chose #6. For my second and third children I chose #2, cloth diapers.

A couple years ago or so ago I met a great gal named Amber online. At the time I still owned a cloth diaper company and I was blown away by her store Diaper Kits. I loved how easy she made it for other moms to learn to sew their own diapers or sew just a few without having to invest in tons of specialty fabric… the materials most modern diapers are made with, you won’t find in stores. Amber has recently gone on to open another similar business…Butt Knits. There she offers patterns for knitted longies and soakers. Once again her talent for design blows me away! And I am not the only one that thinks so. Amber’s awesome diapers were just featured in Mothering magazine (hand painted rainbow diapers – below).

What I REALLY love about Amber and her stores is that she is helping to make cloth diapers and wool soakers (and truly beautiful ones to boot!) affordable for the average mom. Lots of moms may decide to stick with disposables after seeing a single diaper that costs $18. If you hang in the cloth diaper circles you will also begin to see that there are many cloth diapering moms that will drop a $100 on an embellished diaper…most moms cannot afford that. Can’t afford that $30 organic diaper? Try one of Amber’s organic diaper kits for under $10! It really does give moms on a budget an opportunity to have some of the nicer diapers.

So, I just had to introduce you all to Amber and her wonderful stores…

Tiffany: How did you get started with cloth diapers?

Amber: After having my first child I realized that I just wasn’t into disposable diapers.  I didn’t like the stiff feel of them and I didn’t like the chemicals, glues, wood pulp, etc. in them.  That was in 2000 and I was fairly new to using the Internet.  Cloth diapers became my first real research project online. I read everything I could.  We started out with Alexis Snap pants, prefolds (flat diapers), and pins.  My husband did use the pins but he was always a little nervous about accidentally pinning the wriggling baby. 

Tiffany: How did you get started sewing your own?

Amber: I found a free pattern and immediately cut up all of my husbands “bachelor” sheets and towels to make fitted diapers for our son.  I tried a few purchased patterns but I found them to be lacking.  The instructions weren’t as clear as I needed them to be.  They seemed to assume some knowledge of how a modern cloth diaper was made. I spent hours trying to figure out what the instructions wanted me to do.  Trying to figure out what fabrics to use and how best to sew the whole thing up.

Tiffany: And this translated into selling home sewing kits for other moms?

Amber: Absolutely.  I remember being very pregnant with our third child and my husband taking the other kids out for the day so I could stay home and cut out diapers without interruption.  That was that day that I realized that I hate cutting out the same thing over and over and over again.  In fact, I realized that whole process was no fun.  Washing and drying yards of fabric, ironing the fabrics, cutting…I just wanted to sew them up! While complaining to my Dad about it one day he said something about “diaper kits” and that I couldn’t be the only one who felt that way about making diapers.  

Tiffany: You are spot on there. Sewing an actual diaper takes only 15-20 minutes in my experience…all the cutting and prep is just horrendous though. I hated it too. What kind of feedback have you gotten about your Diaper Kits?

Amber: I smile when you ask me that.  I get a lot of positive feedback.  The funniest one was when someone said we’re like the gateway to diaper sewing and that she’s now addicted to making cute diapers for her little one.  I think the kits bring a level fun as well as functionality to families wanting to use cloth diapers.  I often receive emails saying that DiaperKit.com has made it possible for them to afford all-in-one or organic cloth diapers.  And of course, it’s such a special feeling to see your little one in cloth diapers made by you – I hear that a lot too.

Tiffany: It is an awesome feeling to have your baby where diapers you made…I agree. Are your diaper kits easy enough for sewing newbies?

Amber: I have received lots of emails from moms stating that this is their first sewing project or their first sewing project since home economics class years ago.  They write to say that they were successful and how easy it was to do.  That’s what I love to hear.  I work very hard to keep everything as simple as possible.  I test all of our fabrics before offering them.  The illustrations in our instruction sheets were done by a professional illustrator who was familiar with the sewing industry.

Tiffany: What do you offer at Butt Knits?

Amber: Butt Knits has been a really fun project for me. I love to knit – I find it very relaxing.  I also find it’s a great outlet for my creativity.  And of course, wool soakers go perfectly over cloth diapers. 

My vision for Butt Knits is that it be a reliable source for fresh new longies (wool soaker) patterns.  I work with a professional pattern editor to make sure that my creations are translated perfectly into easy to understand knitting patterns.  I want to bring embellished soakers to the average mom.  Not everyone can afford embroidered or cabled longies. Butt Knits is an opportunity to learn to make them yourself. 

Tiffany: Any tips for moms interested using cloth/wool for diapering?

Amber: Where to start? There is so much information out there on cloth diapering and wool as well.  I have some good basic information on cloth diaper terminology on DiaperKit.com.  I also have information on washing and drying cloth diapers.  There are many routines out there but I share the two methods we’ve used over the last eight years of diapering.

Wool is amazing.  It’s natural, soft, and very breathable.  Those who may be struggling with diaper rash may find that cotton fitted diapers and wool covers (soakers) are the solution.  I don’t think anything beats wool for breathability. You can learn more about how to care for wool soakers on my wash & care page. 

Both of my websites have content pages with helpful information.  Everything from diaper fabrics on DiaperKit to selecting yarns on ButtKnits.  If anyone would like to contact me with specific questions they are welcome to contact me at info@diaperkit.com or info@buttknits.com.

Thank you so much Tiffany for having me on your blog!

Moms have been emailing me quite often lately about cloth diapers…are they the greener choice, which ones are best, etc. I cloth diapered two of my babies and I even owned a cloth diaper manufacturing company and store for a few years. I am a big advocate for cloth diapers. To the right you will see my daughter wearing a tye dye diaper I made for her.

So first things first…are they REALLY the green choice in diapering. Yes! Disposable diaper advocates are quick to say that cloth diapers use a lot of water and energy in the laundering process but frankly their arguments are LAME. I laundered cloth diapers for 4 years and it was a tiny blip on the energy usage chart in my house. Water, yes I did use more water…it equated to about 3 extra loads of laundry a week…big woop. I opted to conserve more “conservatively” in other areas to make up for it. Most of my children’s diapers were also made by me with organic fabric or I purchased from another WAHM like myself.

Disposable diapers are made in huge factories that spew chemicals into the air and nearby waterways. One factory can be unloading as much as 50 million gallons of waste water a day. In one US town, this has caused mutations in fish and one awful stench. Huge amounts of energy go into diaper production and then into packaging (wasteful), and then into transportation around the world via truck, plane, and cargo ship. When the diapers reach their respective stores, consumers spend their hard earned money on something that will last a few hours and then be thrown into the garbage. More energy is used to buy and then dispose of diapers and then they will sit, entombed in a landfill for many generations to come. Are you at ease knowing that your baby’s diapers will be around when your great-great-great-great grandchild is born? Ew!

So….cloth is the better choice IMO. They are easier on our limited resources, they are  better value, and they can used for many years with several children usually. But many moms turn their noses up about cloth for some reason. They might say cleaning messy diapers is gross, or that they don’t have time for 2 extra loads of laundry. I found neither of these things to be true and trust me I was one of those moms who NEVER would have thought I would use cloth diapers.

Also…sposies are loaded with petroleum products, bleached paper, perfumes, and other chemical nasties. Babies LOVE cloth diapers too. How could I not get excited about cloth diapering when you get to use such cutesy terms like Kissaluv, Happy Heiny, Monkey Doodlez, Fuzzi Bunz, etc.

Moneky Doodlez- My friend Cheryl owns this store and I have known her for years. These diapers are so fine they are works of diaper art. They really last and they are a great value for the price. They are AIO diapers or a one piece diapering system and they have fleece on the inside to wick moisture away from the skin so rashes and discomfort are a thing of the past. There are bamboo options and TONS of color choices. You can also get embroidered diapers too.

I have some diapers made by the same company under a different brand name and they are in excellent condition after 3 plus years. I can’t say enough good things about these diapers…really I can’t. They top my list!

Bumgenius Pocket Diapers- These diapers are another favorite. They are pocket diapers that allow you to customize absorbency levels, although an AIO option is available to. They are also a one size diaper which means you can get away with buying a dozen or so and have them fit from birth to potty learning….no need to buy diapers in each size…these diapers grow with baby. I also like the stretchy tabs on these diapers…way cool.

Fuzzi Bunz – These are pretty popular. They are reliable and well liked by many moms. I like the pockets, the snaps, and the fleece inners. They also have some toddler sizes that are quite helpful for many moms. I still have some of these that are going strong after 4 years so that in itself says a lot.

Happy Heinys- This is a solid diapering choice. They last a long time and they are of good quality. They are pocket diapers as well. I really like the Heiny Huggers fitted diapers for small babies…they fit really well and when paired with a wool cover they are top notch.

Kissaluvs- This is my favorite diaper type for newborns.The Kissaluvs size zero diapers and the Kissaluv countours rock for your baby’s first diaper…tiny sizes, oh so soft, easy to use, and good prices (especially the contours). I also love the colors….lime and melon were my faves. I used these until my babies were about 3-4 months old and then I switched to more absorbent diapers. I was always able to resell these for 80-100% of the purchase price too.

Prefolds – These are the very basic in diapering and not my personal choice but I did use them now and again. They are the most economical choice for sure.

My favorite diaper covers for fitted and prefold diapers were simple wool covers or longies and the Bummis Super Whisper Wrap. The Bummis were great on top of the Kissaluvs.

Other Green Diapering Options:

gDiapers – These are flushable diapers. The idea is that you flush them where they dissolve and the water gets treated by your city sewage system, instead of putting diapers in the garbage. You get gDiapers washable covers and then you put flushable liners inside them. SO it is half cloth diaper half flushable diaper and still greener than regular disposables. Drawbacks include the potential for clogging your toilet and septic system and also the cost is prohibitive.

Greener Disposables – There are several brands of disposable diapers that you can buy that are just a bit better than conventional diapers. They might use unbleached paper pulp, fewer chemicals, or be more biodegradable. Seventh Generation and Tushies are two to look at. I tried them both at one point and they seemed really stiff and uncomfortable and part of my reason for using cloth was comfort. I wouldn’t want to wear paper/plastic undies so my kids don’t have to either.