Cost of Cloth Diapering vs. Disposable Diapering
On this page we will outline for you the approximate cost of cloth diapers using velcro cloth diapers and button cloth diapers vs. the average cost of disposable diapers. Please note that the cost of energy and detergent will vary according to where you live, and the cost of disposable diapers varies according to brand. If you are shocked by the difference in the price of cloth diapering vs. disposable diapering for one child, consider that the cost of diapering subsequent children is only the cost of energy used for washing and detergent. Your cloth diapers can be re-used! Take for example, our cloth diapers, the velcro cloth diaper and button cloth diaper - the cost of diapering two children would be approximately RM1,523.28, the cost of disposables would be approximately RM6,480! Now the savings are really adding up!
CLOTH DIAPERS
Velcro/ Button Cloth Diaper x 12 x RM35 = RM420
Subtotal: RM420
Cost of energy use per diaper: RM0.013
Cost of detergent per diaper: RM0.013
Cost for 3 years of washing diapers every day: RM341.64
TOTAL COST for 3 years: RM761.64* You save RM2,478.36!
*Your savings will only increase as you can re-use your stash of cloth diapers on subsequent children!
vs.
DISPOSABLE DIAPERS
RM0.50 per piece = RM90/month
Number of disposable diapers used per day: 6
TOTAL COST for 3 years of disposable diapering: RM3,240
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Cloth Diapers and Your Baby
Babies are people too!
They want to wear comfortable, soft clothes made from soft, supple fabrics. Would you like to walk around all day wearing plastic underpants? Cloth diapers are soft, comfortable, and absorbent. They cause less diaper rash, allergic reactions, and general skin aggravation than disposables. Disposable diapers contain many unsavory chemicals and toxins, consider the research below from the Real Diaper Association:
In 1955, before modern disposable diapers were sold and consumed, it was estimated that 7% of babies and toddlers had diaper rash. In 1991, long after plastic disposable diapers dominated the market, the number jumped to 78%.
Disposable diapers contain traces of Dioxin, an extremely toxic by-product of the paperbleaching process. It is a carcinogenic chemical, listed by the EPA as the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals. In small quantities, dioxin causes birth defects, immune system suppression, skin and liver diseases, and genetic damage in lab animals. It is banned in most countries, but not the U.S.
Disposable diapers contain Tributyl-tin (TBT) a toxic pollutant know to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals.
Disposable diapers contain Sodium Polyacrylate, a type of super absorbant polymer (SAP), which becomes a gel-like substance when wet. This chemical can cause skin irritations and severe allergic reactions including vomiting, staph infections, and fever.
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Better for the environment...best for your baby.
Concerned about the environment? Feeling guilty when you see how many garbage bags full of dirty diapers you're leaving on the curb? Use cloth diapers! Cloth diapers aren't just best for your baby, they're also a better choice for the environment! Consider these facts supplied by the Real Diaper Association:
Disposable diapers generate sixty times more solid waste than cloth.
Disposable diapers use twenty times more raw materials, like crude oil and wood pulp.
No one knows how long it takes for a disposable diaper to decompose, but it is estimated to be about 250-500 years under optimal circumstances, long after your children, grandchildren and great, great, great grandchildren will be gone.
Disposable diapers are the third largest single consumer item in landfills, and represent about 4% of solid waste. In a house with a child in diapers, disposable make up 50% of household waste.
Over 92% of all single-use diapers end up in a landfill.
Throwaway diapers use twice as much water as cotton diapers, mostly in the manufacturing process.
One ton of garbage is created for each baby who uses disposable diapers.
Cloth diapers make babies happy and the environment healthy, so spread the word!
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The Top Ten Reasons To Cloth Diaper
#1. Your baby's comfort.
Would you like to wear stiff paper (and/or plastic) underwear 24 hours a day? The comfort of cotton and most moms I know providing the best possible comfort for their baby was the #1 reason they switched to cloth diapers, and why they still love them so much today.
#2. The environment.
Leave a cleaner world behind for your baby, and your grandchildren. Disposables leave behind an average of 2.7 tons of non-biodegradable waste (not to mention the waste produced by manufacturing them alone) per child. Compare that to a few dozen cotton diapers, and the responsible choice also becomes an easy one.
#3. Save money.
With disposables, some estimate you spend an average of RM4,000 per child. Cloth compares at only an average of RM500-RM1,000 per child (with the added but minimal cost of electricity and water to launder them). What a great excuse to start a college fund for your baby now, and you can rest assure that your money is being well-spent and not going to "waste" in a land-fill!
#4. Potty training is easier, and happens earlier.
It's a little-known fact that cloth diaper children potty train earlier, and with less effort on their parent's part. This has mostly to do with the fact that when a cloth diaper is wet, they can feel the sensation. Chemical laden disposables can feel so dry, your baby never gets a chance to understand what their body is doing.
#5. Cotton diapers are gel free.
Polyacrylate gel in diapers is a relatively new phenomenon, and no one really knows what the long term effects are. It also leaches moisture from your babies skin. Additionally, disposables are full of dioxins. While non-organic cotton cloth diapers can also have dioxins, they typically are washed out within the first few pre-washes (before your baby will ever wear them), however one-use-only disposables are never rid of them. Additionally, and perhaps the most compelling reason to use cloth diapers, is that disposable diapers containing polyacrylate gel are suspected of asthma.
#6. Cloth diapers are so much better looking.
Photographers still traditionally photograph diapered babies in cloth diapers, simply because they are so much cuter! Today they are available in as many prints and colors as their are fabrics available, not to mention the combination of choices you have with twill, flannel, hemp, terry and more. Imagine how many classic baby photos would suddenly become less "quaint" with a baby wrapped in a disposable diaper. I prefer to bring my groceries home in paper and plastic, not my baby!
#7. More fun for Mom.
While not every mother (or woman, for that matter) is a born "shopaholic", most moms I know just love how fun it is to shop for cloth diapers. There are unlimited choices today in cloth diapering, like all-in-one, terry, flannel, contour, prefold, fitted and other contemporary-style cloth diapers. And when you are on a budget, swapping is a great, and economical, way to try the latest new "rage" in cloth diapers.
#8. Better cushioning for baby's bum.
We all know that babies and toddlers have their fair share of bumps and spills! Cushy cotton provides a much softer "landing pad" than a flat paper diaper.
#9. Convenience.
Convenience? Yes, convenience! You'll never have to worry about making another late-night trip to your grocery store for a package of disposable diapers.. You'll never have to hold your nose while emptying and re-bagging one of those complicated "Diaper Genie®" contraptions.. And you'll have approximately two bags less of garbage to haul to the curb every week!
#10. Being a leader is much more fun than being a follower.
Stand out from the crowd and show you care to give your baby the very best, including the way you diaper. It's so much more fun to share the joy of cloth diapering with other mothers (who are usually very curious!), than to waste time clipping the latest coupons for the cheapest disposable paper diaper.
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