With environmental awareness having become more of a focus lately, more people are thinking about ways to cut down on pollution and garbage, such as using prefold cloth diapers. Although slightly less convenient than disposal diapers, their cloth counterparts are not only better for the earth, they’re better for your savings, too! Even if you don’t care about the planet, you’ll probably care about saving a lot of money, with just a little bit of extra effort.
A pack of prefold cloth baby diapers can be had for less than the price of a movie ticket, and be reused almost indefinitely. Meanwhile, disposables can often get expensive, and you have to keep throwing them out and then buy new ones again and again! Because of this, most new parents find a simple investment in maintaining cloth-based diapers to be well worth the effort. Diapers made of cloth are better for the earth because of being made of natural, biodegradable materials.
When your baby is all grown up and it comes time to throw them away, you can do so knowing that you’re not doing anything to hurt the environment your child will grow up in. Millions of tons of diapers are added to landfills every single year! Do you really want to turn the beautiful sweeping plains of America into a dumping ground? Studies have shown that cloth diapers not only produce seven times less waste after being thrown out, they also produce much less waste in the process of manufacturing them.
In addition, many cloth diapers are made as enjoyable fashion statements besides their practical uses, with bright colors and cheerful patterns to keep children and adults alike in a good mood. This can make your diapers feel special and as enjoyable for a child as their clothes, so they won’t feel like every other kid with the same diaper. And just like disposables, cloth diapers come in waterproof and leak proof varieties.
Cleaning a cloth diaper is a simple process that only takes a little bit of time, some hot water, and sunlight or a clothes dryer. Once you’ve got the process worked into your routine and are fully comfortable with it, it will take a surprisingly small amount of time out of your life. And once your baby is all grown and you no longer need the diapers, you can keep them for a later baby, make a gift of them to expectant parents, or even give them away through groups like Freecycle.
The benefits of cloth diapers are many, and the drawbacks are few. While disposable diapers may be a little more convenient, are they really worth the price you pay, both in money and in impact to the environment? Think about the consequences of your actions the next time you buy diapers, and you may decide on getting cloth instead.
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