Why Cloth Diaper?

Cloth diapering seems so... gross, right? Why would anyone WANT to use cloth when we have the modern convenience of disposable diapers?

As it turns out, there are many great reasons to go the more natural route:

1. Cloth is better for your baby. There is less incidence of diaper rash when babies are cloth diapered.

2. Cloth diapered children potty train earlier. On average, babies in cloth train a year earlier due to the ability to know what's going on in the diaper. The chemical crystals in disposables cause a baby to always feel "dry," even when they are not.

3. Healthier bottoms, healthier babies. Disposable diapers have been implicated in a number of undesirable outcomes, including asthma, decreased male fertility, and toxic shock syndrome.

4. Cloth diapering is better for the environment. Every diaper change with cloth means one less disposable packed into our landfills, to sit and drain into the groundwater for MILLIONS of years.

5. Cloth diapering uses less resources. Overall, from manufacture to disposal, cloth diapering is much more eco-friendly, especially if the diapers are line-dried. This does take into account the entire process, from harvesting crops for cotton diapers, cutting down trees for disposables, petroleum-based ingredients in disposables, manufacture, shipment, packaging, and delivery for both, wash cycles for cloth, re-usability, and the end of the life cycle for both. For disposables this is the landfill, where they will sit next to EVERY disposable diaper ever made. Not one of them has biodegraded yet. For cloth, this is likely use throughout multiple children, then recycling the diapers into household rags.

6. Cloth diapering is economical. With the current sharp rise in gas prices, disposable diapers are also going up. Diaper makers have already slightly increased their retail pricing, with more increases projected for the near future. Cotton is already at a high and measures are being taken worldwide to plant more crops to lower prices. This means that cloth diapering becomes even MORE economical than it already is while disposables will be going up, likely permanently.

7. Cloth is convenient. An extra couple of washloads a week don't even compare to the middle-of-the-night drugstore runs to pay even higher prices because you ran out of diapers, or the extra trips in the heat and snow, carting the baby to the store just to pick up more diapers that will be tossed after one use. With a diaper service it is even easier: you toss the soiled diapers directly into a bag and leave it on the porch for them to do the rest!

7. Cloth diapers smell better than disposables. Ask anyone who has experienced both, and they will tell you that there is an extremely unpleasant odor associated with a wet disposable diaper. It's some kind of chemical-y, rotten stink that festers in your trash can until garbage day. Cloth diapers do not stink. Baby pee has no odor, and poo is washed away before there is a chance for a stink to grow. Diaper services provide waterproof, smell-proof wet bags so there is no odor to the diapers as long as the bag is kept sealed until the service pick-up.

8. Cloth diapering is adorable, and even fun! Yes, we said it. There's nothing cuter than a baby in just a diaper, especially when that diaper is made of cotton with a fun print on the cover, instead of a plain plastic sack that droops when it is wet. There are endless possibilities for cover designs and types of cloth diapers, one of which is right for your family.

Ask yourself: which would you rather have next to your baby's delicate bottom; a plastic single-use diaper or a simple, soft, and sustainable square of cotton? Which is really more convenient?

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Marie_Reilly/1055562



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