In the spirit of Real Diaper Week last week, I wrote to our state daycare regulations board asking if they would consider changing the wording about cloth diapers.  In our state of Virginia, the regulation stipulates that disposable diaper shall be used unless the child has an adverse reaction to them. 

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When you are expecting a baby, a bunch of things run through your mind.  Among millions of things you check off your list of essentials for your precious little bundle are diapers.  One big decision that is usually overlooked is which route you may choose to diaper your baby. 

Most people automatically assume disposables and ask you "are you going to use Huggies or Pampers?"  There is an option that more parents are considering: cloth.  Some people get discouraged with all the negative feedback from people (and believe me, there is a lot!).  Some people buy a few cloth diapers but for various reasons, end up using disposables and many others try cloth diapers and absolutely love them! 

I was so eager to start cloth diapering my son a year and a ago. I purchased my pocket diapers and dove right in with washing, drying, and stuffing the cloth diapers. I loved it because it was saving me so much money. I quickly found a problem. I repeatedly found used, washed, and falling apart disposable wipes entangled with my washed diapers. Yes, I switched to cloth diapers, but the concept of cloth wipes somehow did not enter my thought life. I eagerly stopped using disposable diapers, but kept using disposable wipes.

I hate disposable diapers. Most people who know me would think it’s because I’m such a huge cloth diaper advocate, but that’s not the case. I understand that cloth diapering isn’t for everyone and that using cloth diapers full time is not always an option even for people who wish they could. I hate disposable diapers because I think their gross. Why?

There are so many reasons why families choose cloth diapers over throw-away diapers including, environmental, health and price reasons. But when you start your research to determine what is best for your family, you might be overwhelmed with all of the opinions and  research that exists out there on this topic.

For example, Tricia Henton is a director of environmental protection in London, England. She says, “There is no substantial difference between the environmental impacts of the three systems studied.”  On the other hand, some people say that Tricia’s diaper study is wrong. Even government agencies can’t agree on cloth diapers versus throw-away ones! Either way, parents need to begin looking for the answers to the diaper debate somewhere. The question is, with all of this information out there, where do you start?  Here are some ideas that may help:

Everyone has their reasons that got them started on cloth diapering. They can be the cost, the environment, what the baby’s skin is exposed to. In our house we do cloth diapers half the time and disposables half the time. So, what are the day-to-day comparisons of disposable vs cloth?

Guest contributor Laura shares with you her thoughts on cloth diapering and what diapers she's building her stash with. 

Laura has also come to realize that she believes cloth is actually more convenient than disposables.  Read her thoughts in this great article.

Let's all raise our diaper pins in salute to all the mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers out there who used cloth diapers when choices were few and labor was intensive. You have to admit, it's a lot easier today for moms to be eco-minded and keep our landfills from piling up even faster with disposable diapers.

About a week ago we posted a link of interest about a group of grandmothers in Utah who volunteered to make cloth diapers for needy moms in the area. A friend had sent over the link, so we didn't delve too deeply into the site, just reading enough to get a gist of the issue. What we hadn't realized at the time was that this one article is a small part of a continuing debate over cloth versus disposables for low-income families in Salt Lake City...perhaps everywhere since it is a topic that affects communities nationwide. Doing a search on diapers on the Salt Lake Tribune site yields letter after letter either in support of cloth donations to shelters or defense on the use of disposables. Just reading some of the letters makes it clear that parents, whether or children still in diapers or now grown, are quite passionate about the side they choose.

One can argue, for the expectant mother, that turning immediately to disposable diapers is immediate because it's thrust upon them from the start. While one might find cloth diapers in specialty baby stores and online, disposables are stacked everywhere at Target and grocery stores and convenient markets, and in the hospital your baby is likely dressed in a disposable cut for newborns. They are the first thing a new mom sees, so by that logic it's what they use. Is it possible to make a smooth transition to cloth without tearing out your hair and giving up when the going gets rough, and messy?

"You want to give birth naturally…yeah right, they all say that. You are going to breastfeed…I give it a month. You want to do cloth diapers…are you crazy!"

While I was still pregnant it seemed everywhere I turned people were skeptical. Each time I discussed a desire to have my child naturally, to breastfeed or cloth diaper people continued to doubt my resolve. The fact that I was having my first child also earned me the extremely popular, "you just wait and see" remark.

Now, going to the dentist may seem like torture to some, but for me, it's not only a nice way to take a mommy break in a comfortable, reclining chair, it's a chance for me to knit more wool diaper covers. I mean, get to kill two birds with one stone - get my teeth clean, and make more fluff for my baby's bum!

Choosing cloth diapers over disposables isn't always an easy or obvious choice.  Read one moms journey to cloth, how she switched and why and why she'll never go back to disposables.

After having 4 babies in 5 years, I grew frustrated with the expense of disposable baby wipes.

Even purchasing them by the case taxed the bank account. Researching homemade wipes opened up a whole world of opportunity. In general cloth baby wipes can be broken done into two categories: disposable and reusable.

From time to time truly interesting articles pop into my inbox, and the October 25, 2009 article, P&G Introduces Pampers 3 Way Fit Diapers, published in the business section of Vanguard's e-zine is no exception.

There are many types of disposable diapers available in today's market for our convenience-conscious society; while concern over landfill space has pushed for "greener" alternatives, disposable diapers are still disposable.Disposable diapers promoted by manufacturers as all-natural, earth-friendly, plastic-free, chlorine-free, and even at times, compostable, are filling up landfills.A disposable diaper with a plastic exterior lining is no different than a 100% plastic-free disposable diaper once it has been tossed into a plastic household trash bag and dumped into a landfill.Plastic is plastic.

The cloth vs. disposable diaper battle will no doubt rage on for years.  Health risks can occur from the exposure to the chemicals in disposable diapers.  But what if the risk is insignificant?  Is your baby's health worth risking in order to provide YOU with a convenient option you can just throw away?

You can beat the rising cost of disposable diapers by choosing to use cloth diapers on your baby.  Learn all about cloth diapers and why you should make the switch to cloth diapers today!  Let Diaper Junction help you.

Cloth diaper vs. disposable....Yes diaper for diaper the cloth diaper is more expensive.  But when you compare the overall  cost savings, cloth diapers clearly come out on top.  Compare your costs and discover your savings.

Often overlooked, there is a great environmental impact in the use of disposable wipes. Using cloth diapers? Make the switch to cloth wipes, for more reasons than one!

And the debate rages on.  There will always be two sides to every story and two sets of researchers, statistics, results and opinions.  The cloth vs. disposable debate have been discussed and the statistics analyzed.  We don't think there's much to debate, where do you stand on the issues?

In her January 12, 2008 interview with Tereson Dupuy, owner and inventor of Fuzzi Bunz pocket diapers, Claudia H. Deutsch of The New York Times asks some pretty tough questions. The article, Breaking the Habit of Disposable Diapers...

Looking for an alternative to disposable diapers?  Fuzzi Bunz Pocket Diapers are so easy to use, so comfortable for baby and super absorbent. They're the perfect modern choice when you're looking to ditch disposables for a more natural and affordable long-term cloth diapering option.

When I cloth diapered my babies I was on the answering side of a lot of questions. Of course, people had heard the horror stories from their grandmothers, or possibly their mothers, about cloth diapers. They always want to know WHY I would chose cloth diapers when the alternative, disposable diapers, were readily available.

That question was a simple one to answer. It was answered with a question of my own. "Would YOU like to wear paper or plastic underwear?"

Use a cloth diaper again and again. By definition, disposable diapers are single use items. The debate rages on and on whether or not disposable diapers are more environmentally sound than cloth diapers, but for the life of me I can't figure out why.

Are you familiar at all with the National Association of Diaper Services? If not, check out their link - specifically, their directory of cloth diaper services across the United States. Not everyone wants to care for their child's cloth diapers in their home - we understand that. Our goal is to promote the use of cloth diapers over disposable diapers and, hopefully, run a successful family business in the meantime. However, we understand that not everyone is within our reach - and for those that aren't - we want options available.

alt="Group rubbishes nappy habits." />I'm a visual learner and so I had to smile when I came across this trashy display of disposable diapers.

As we read across blogs and web forums we hear a lot of excuses for why families don't cloth diaper their babies - even from families who pride themselves in making earth-friendly choices.

View Poll

I just read some encouraging, but not surprising, results to a poll over at Breastfeeding 1-2-3 regarding Cloth -v- Disposable diaper usage among breastfeeding mothers. The respondents to their poll chose cloth diapers over disposable diapers 2 to 1.

There is a myth that has perpetuated itself far too long – the myth that somehow disposable diapers are easier than cloth diapers. The myth has sustained itself from the mouth of our grandmothers and their horror stories of dunking, washing, wringing, and pinning cloth diapers.

SAP, Super Absorbent Polymers, are the component of disposables that makes them absorbent.  Let us tell you all about SAP's, Disposable Diapers and why we stand on the Cloth side of the Cloth vs. Disposable Diaper debate.

We break down the cost of using cloth diapers.  Water, electricity, detergent, wipes?  Can you really save money?  Read all about our findings

When it comes to making smarter decisions for our Earth, cloth diapering ranks high. Disposable diapers are the 3rd largest single consumer item in landfills, and represent 30% of non-biodegradable waste. No small beans.

WHAT IS THAT GEL STUFF?

Have you ever found yourself wiping shiny gel-like crystals off your baby’s bottom when changing a disposable diaper?