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Organic Diapers or Disposable Diapers

By: Taswell Maneveld

All that changed with the advent of disposable disposable diapers. Even the unfitted, flat, uncomfortable first generation disposable diapers were worlds above the standard cloth diapers for convenience and ease of use. Just unfold the back, pull the plastic up between the infant's legs and smooth it against his stomach, and stick the rear to the front. Voila! Instantaneous diaper. And there was no need for time consuming laundry!. No dirty disposable diapers soaking in a bucket of borax. No odor, no mess, no washing service - just un-tape, close it up and throw it away.

For mothers of my generation, disposable diapers was the dividing line between 'back then' and now. If I had a dollar for the number of mothers, grandmothers, aunts and older female relatives who began a story with 'Of course, we never had Pampers, WE had to..."

There were numerous advantages: disposables were cleaner, more clean, more convenient. Gone were the days of spending hours laundering and drying, for a mother these hours were exceptionally longed-for!. If you were the slightest bit mindful of disposal, you could totally eliminate the dirty-diaper smell - just wrap it up tight in a plastic bag in put it in the OUTSIDE refuse. And no more fumbling with a squirming baby while you tried to pin his diaper shut, nor having the whole thing fall off his cute tiny butt because you missed a layer of cloth when pinning.

Most were not aware of the drawbacks, but they were nonetheless real. The major argument against disposable disposable diapers is a potent one: disposable diapers may be fantastic for mother, but they put an huge strain on Mother Earth. Some facts:

* Rubbish dumps are filling up with over 19 billions disposable diapers every year and this number is on the rise! - where they do not degrade.
* Disposable diapers are a major deforestation concern - the manufacturing method involves over a million tons of wood pulp every year in the US alone!
* Dangerous posions, metals and solvents are a by-product of disposable diaper production - nearly all of which ends up in our oceans and rivers.

In a world with limited resources, disposable diapers consume resources and generate contaminants and unsafe chemicals. The convenience of disposable diapers are jeopardizing the futures of the very infants we are using them on.

But there's yet a further side to the discussion - disposable diaper manufacturers have countered with arguments that organic cloth diapers aren't all that benign to Mother Earth either. They cite the use of harsh chemicals in cleaning - bleach, borax and other detergents, the consumption of water, and the energy (and fuels) needed to heat water to temperatures that can disinfect disposable diapers as being just as destructive to the Earth as
disposables.

It is for these very reasons that cloth diapers are making a return - in organic form! Certified organic organic cloth diapers have a much lower effect on resources during their manufacturing process. Due to no pesticides or poisonous chemicals being used in the manufacturing process it is much healthier for both the child and the Earth!

What about the bleaches and detergents you ask? Well, an eco-conscious mother who buys organic organic cloth diapers will no doubt also pay attention to that. There are a number of organic cleaning products obtainable that you can make use of to clean the disposable diapers and this will render the organic diaper option even more eco-friendly.

In the end, the choice to use disposable diapers or organic cloth diapers is a judgment call. What option is better for the child? Which is better for mom? What option would have the least impact on the Earth?

Once you have considered all the choices I think you will discover that organic diapers are the only way to go, but it will take some changes on your part!

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