Comfort and health:

Would you rather have the soft feel of cotton against your skin or the cold, sterile feel of plastic?  Cotton diapers breathe naturally, have lower incidence of diaper rash and just feel better then disposable diapers.

In 1955, before modern disposable diapers were sold and consumed, it was estimated that 7% of babies and toddlers had diaper rash. In 1991, long after plastic disposable diapers dominated the market, the number jumped to 78%.  One study from the Journal of Pediatrics indicates that 54% of one month olds in disposable diapers had some type of rash, 16% were severe.

A cloth diaper is 100% natural cotton. By contrast, an average disposable diaper contains a complex combination of heavily treated paper pulp, polyethylene (plastics), glues, dyes, synthetic perfumes, and the absorbent chemical sodium polyacrylate. The chemicals given off by disposable diapers have been shown to cause asthma in laboratory animals.

Conservation:

Every year over 18,000,000,000 diapers are thrown into landfills. That is over 3.4 million tons of plastic, paper and tape filling up our landfills.

The choice of cloth diapers helps relieve pressure on our working forests and the world’s fossil fuel supply. One child in disposable diapers will require 20 trees, 420 gallons of petroleum and generate one ton of garbage. Single-use diapers represent between 2% to 4% of solid waste in our nation’s landfills and the emissions of carbon dioxide and methane from landfills are major contributors to Global Warming. It takes up to 500 years for a single-use diaper to decompose. That means every disposable diaper ever made is still in a landfill somewhere!

However, there are very few things in life that are perfect. To help offset our impact on the planet, Do Good Diapers purchases carbon offset credits from Terrapass.  Credits from Terrapass help to fund clean energy and efficiency projects such as wind farms. These projects result in verified reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Convenience (Less errands and Faster potty training):

With all the responsibilities of being a new parent, going to the store to pick up disposable diapers shouldn’t be one of them. Let Do Good Diapers do the dirty work.  You can pick up and drop off cloth diapers right at your door step. You don’t event have to be there when we come by!

Even better – studies show that the average child in cloth diapers is potty trained by 24 months where the average age of potty training for a child in disposable diapers is 36 months! Imagine how much time and money you can save by having your child use a toilet earlier.

Cost:

Ask any economically savvy parent how to save money with a baby, and almost always they’ll mention cloth diapers. Savings estimates range from $1,000 to $2,000 over a three-year period depending on whether the diapers are laundered at home or with a service and the age their child is potty trained.

Links to other resources:

Real Diaper Association: Promoting cloth diapering throughout the US
http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/

Diaper Pin: Cloth diapering tips, reviews and more!
http://www.diaperpin.com/home.asp

The History of Diapers:
http://www.diaperjungle.com/history-of-diapers.html

The Diaper Facts:
http://www.borntolove.com/diaperfaq.html

‘The Truth’ about disposable diapers:
http://www.seattlediaper.com/product_index.php?name=cloth_benefits

‘The Joy of Cloth Diapers’
http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/diapers/joy-of-cloth.html