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Look at all of that cute 'fluff'
I worked in some daycare centers while I was in college, about *gasp* 13 years ago. Many parents in the Seattle area were ahead of the green curve and even in the year 2000 were using cloth diapers. We had a diaper service come to our daycare center and take away those pooptastic bags of diapers for us. I wondered to myself, now how would that look in your home? So, again, I got out my super mama sleuth hat and started digging. Turns out diaper services aren't so green friendly. They use harsh bleaches to get those diapers white and clean and it makes sense. You are sharing diapers that your baby has done her business on and then getting new diapers your neighbor's baby did his business on. Ewwww! Eco-friendly diaper services are up and coming, but alas there were none in the Portland Metro area when I started my search. I was actually shocked! Isn't Oregon the home of being green? There's a money making business waiting to be started Mamas!So we move to the next logical diaper - the disposable. That nasty little homewrecker. Home being our lovely planet Earth. The facts on disposable diapers are staggering and a little horrifying. One child will use around 8,000-10,000 disposable diapers over the course of the diaper wearing years. The image below shows about 5,000 disposable diapers. That's half the amount ONE child will use in her lifetime! These diapers are made from plastics and chemicals that take hundreds of years to break down in our landfills. They are filled with human waste and there are no enforced regulations on the waste in diapers in landfills. One consequence that is being discussed, is the possibilty of that waste leaking into our water supply. Scary stuff, right?
5,000 disposable diapers - about 1/2 what ONE child will use over the course of his diaper wearing years!
It gets worse! 200,000 trees each year are lost to the manufacture of disposable diapers for babies in the U.S. alone. Let's not forget about petrochemicals! It has been estimated that it takes takes 3.4 billion gallons of oil every year to make those diapers. That is a huge strain on our natural resources.
Finally, what about all of the plastic fillers, bleaching agents, lead, PVC and other nasty stuff that completes the ingredient list in a diaper? Well, what about it? Diapers have direct contact all day long with your baby's skin. Our skin is our largest organ and what we put on it gets absorbed directly into our blood stream. Don't believe me? Ever heard of a morphine patch? Hospital grade pain relief that is soaked into your skin from a patch. The same goes for other patch like medications - nicotine, birth control. Yet, we don't think twice about the 24 hour a day patch our babies wear for the first 3 years of their lives!
So what's an eco AND convenience lovin' mama to do? Turns out, there are some viable alternatives to the old standards. Thank goodness!
Biodegradable disposable diapers. Produced without harsh chemicals. Totally compostable. Ding Ding Ding. Bambo Nature and the Honest Company are a few of the names we have tried.
www.honest.com http://bambonatureusa.com/
The Honest Company makes totally plant based, biodegradable diapers that are super cute to boot! These have been our favorite. They are hypoallergenic, so that means diaper rash that can come with disposable diapers isn't as big of a risk. They are free of chlorine bleaching agents. All the ink used is lead free (did you know regular disposable diapers have lead in them, getting leached into your baby's skin with each wear?).
Urine is an acid. If you have ever done experiments with acids - in chemistry or even just in your kitchen, you know acid breaks down materials like nothing else. Marinade a steak in pineapple juice. The very acidic citrus breaks down and tenderizes meat wonderfully! However, it is not so wonderful when it's a chemical laden material breaking down into your child's bloodstream.
My twins modeling their Honest diapers at 6 months old
The only downfall of some of the natural diapers is the leakage factor. They don't really hold up against diapers that are made to last 12 hours while your baby sleeps. The 7th Generation overnights do a pretty good job of keeping my kids leakproofed overnight. While they are chlorine free, they are not biodegrable. Cloth diapers are even worse for overnights, only lasting about 3-4 hours before your baby will be wet and feeling it. So we deal with it or sometimes double up before bed. I'm hoping over time and new product development, overnight diapers will vastly improve in this niche of baby diapering.
Safe for your baby, your home and your planet! Sometimes we mamas need convenience and I'm so happy to report that there are a few companies who are wising up to this way of thinking. I don't like having to sacrifice convenience for earth friendly and non-toxic. There should be choices in consumerism and I'm choosing to support companies who make products like this. Diapers are a multi-billion dollar industry that doesn't inform it's consumers of the process and ingredients that go into making it's product. I don't buy food like that and I'm certainly not going to buy baby goods from companies who aren't up front about the content of their wares.
A powerful statement that I like to remember is "Vote with your dollar." It is with a strong voice that I will continue to support companies who empower their customers through knowledge. My dollar and my vote will go towards supporting the flexibility of choice and viable green, non-toxic alternatives to everyday household products.
Still rockin' the Honest diapers at 17 months
Link to instructions on how to make a diaper cake. Totally Awesome Diaper Cake Instructions
