Confused before opting for cloth diapers? 5 reasons you need to know

The green grass, clean sparkling water, chirping birds, and blue sky, all these are going to appear soon only in picture books. Can the next generation even see those? Have you seen those recently and inhaled deep?

As a parent, I want to give my child a greener and cleaner planet. Many of you would hope the same for their kids. But how to get there? By reducing our ecological footprint. The ecological footprint is human demand on nature, the lesser the better. Adopting cloth diapers consciously is my baby step to the dream leaving less footprint.

When my hospital bag was packed I had packed all essentials baby clothes, nursing wear, daily essentials for the next few days, and REUSABLE HOMEMADE NAPPIES. Soon sleepless night, marathon feeds and life happened as I shifted to DISPOSABLE DIAPERS. Honestly, I was unmindful about this step for some time. Soon guilt started seeping in my system as I was choosing convenience with slow yet steady self-destruction.

Disposable diapers are easy-to-use, convenient, just use-change-dump but the ease adds a huge pile to landfills. The diaper thrown in the bin today would take about 500 years to decompose. An average infant uses about 10 – 12 or more diaper every day which might reduce to 5-6 count as they grow toddler till they are toilet trained. Upon doing maths, till the baby is 2 years old she would have used almost 2000 to 2200 disposable diapers each year.

These diapers along with disposable wipes, plastic packages, and regular plastic garbage of cutlery, bottles, straws, etc would sit on landfills as waste for years. Though we as parents would be using these diapers till the kid is toilet trained, yet it would keep choking the planet for over 500 years. And the kids get toilet trained by 2 – 3 years, one is lucky if the little one is ready earlier.

Additionally, these diapers are loaded with chemicals. Toxic chemicals. The soft, delicate skin of child stays right next to the chemicals for almost 24 hours every single day. Diaper rashes can give sleepless and cranky nights to child and parents.

So, what can be done to come out of the guilt of using disposable diaper and live a healthier sustainable life with little ease.

Here comes, the game changer Modern Cloth Diapers (MCD).

What is a cloth diaper?

Traditionally, newborn families used soft cotton clothes as nappies which are triangularly folded and knotted or pinned. Modern cloth diapers are more tempting over nappies. They are convenient like disposables and reusable. These come in various fabrics, styles, varieties, and price range. Classically, most MCDs are made up of inner soaker material from fibers and waterproof polyurethane laminate (PUL) with snaps or Velcro.

The soakers can be made of synthetic microfiber or natural fibers as cotton, bamboo, and hemp. The capacity and longevity of the soaker varies with the material it is made up of. But all of them are reusable for long, just wash – dry – use. As these are reusable, they can even be used for siblings or donated on or sold along.

In layman words, the cloth diapers A.K.A MCDs are similar to disposables, they absorb liquid pee, leave solid poop on top and has waterproof layers that prevent leaking. Bonus, they are reusable.

5 reasons to choose cloth diapers

5. It’s economical

Another colossal reason to switch to MCD is economical. One MCD cost varies from INR 700 – INR 900, if the MCD stash is about 25 – 30 diapers, it costs about INR 20,000 -27,000. On the other hand, a disposable one costing over INR 8.5 each on an average, for over 5500 disposables cost goes to INR 47,000. A difference over 20,000 rupees matters, right?

4. Reusable

Next beauty of cloth diapers, it grows with the child. For disposable ones, you have to check the size while getting one. But the MCDs just need to be resized and adjusted according to the baby’s waist and thighs. Thus, again pocket friendly and can be used for a long long time.

3. Re-Sellable

Surprise, surprise! You might not have thought of this right?

Well, if you have a stash with used, less used, or new cloth diapers, you can always destash. Meaning, sell them. There are many groups on Facebook that promote the reselling of diapers. You have to share the status of the diaper like sparingly used, excellent used condition, new with or without a tag. There are few terminologies used in the cloth diapering industry. Then add a clear picture and mention all details of the type of liner, color fade, and stains along with an expected price. Easy!

2. Easy on bum

We parents take the utmost care of our children. So, how can we use the diapers that might lead to diaper rash? Baby skin is particularly sensitive and cloth diapers are the right choice for them. They leave the skin breathable. Bonus, they have no harsh chemicals. Wash the cloth diapers right way, fold, and use.

So, these cloth diapers are eco-friendly and economical with the comfort of disposables. The baby bum would stay with dry-feeling and have long absorbency time. Need more reason to switch to green diapering? Still not convinced then read the reason #1.

1. Environment friendly

According to a study, plastic manufactured till now is enough to cover Argentina. Things wouldn’t change overnight but we can start taking small conscious decisions to reduce the ongoing damage. Remember how we already talked about 500 years to decompose.

Before we say bye for now don’t forget – DIAPERS are just one product that your baby needs. So before you head up for shopping baby essentials, new clothes, and toys. Try to reduce, reuse, and recycle. We have only one planet to love and care. Teach your children to do the same.

Do you try to be a “Green Parent” and adopt a sustainable lifestyle? How do you do it? Share your ideas in the comments.