The Great Diaper Conundrum

The debate about disposables versus cloth diapers has long raged among environmentalists. Disposables end up in land fill. Cloth diapers require water and chemicals to wash. Which is worse on the environment? Now a team of Dutch researchers have answered the question by looking at the energy and waste lifecycle of both. That is to say that where previous studies have looked at the environmental impact of each once they were purchased by the consumer, this new study accounts for the resource use, production and transportation, for each kind of diaper.

The answer is, drum roll please, it is better to go with cloth! Now for those of you that are thinking cloth are inconvenient, I used cloth and it has not only environmental advantages, but children tend to get potty trained much earlier. According to the study, children use an average of 5000 diapers and are usually potty trained at 3.2 years of age. My daughter was potty trained just after she turned 2. And it wasn't difficult training either. We put a little potty in the bathroom, she would try to use it. Then one day we were driving back to New Hampshire from Boston. She said she had to go to the bathroom. She was wearing a diaper but she didn't want to go in it. We got home, she used the potty and that was the end of the diapers. So while the cloth diapers were occasionally inconvenient, my diaper changing days were also over much more quickly.

According to one of the authors of the study, "Although multi-useable diapers need to be washed, which also puts a strain on the environment, we found that washable diapers are up to seven times better for the environment than single-use diapers."

Seven times better for the environment and faster, easier potty training, made from a renewable resource (cotton). As in so many things, turns out what worked for our grandparents, great grand parents and great great grandparents is the way to go.