Choosing Earth Friendly Diapers

[Anonymous]

We had decided to use 7th Generation Diapers for the beginning and then move to GDiapers when the baby is big enough that they will actually work. Has anyone had experiences with these or Tushies or any of the other earth friendlier diaper products?

[Anonymous]

Have you considered cloth at all?

[Anonymous]

We like the 7th Gen products much more than Tushies (both diapers and wipes); Amazon has the best prices if you place recurring orders.

[Anonymous]

Gdiapers have gotten a lot of poor reviews recently - both for reliability (leaking) and environmental reasons. It sounds like you are leaning in a more organic/natural direction, so I'd encourage you to consider cloth diapering. There are so many different options. For more information see the Mothering.com Diaper forum (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/forumdisplay.php?f=221) and the DC Cloth Diaperers (DCCDers) Yahoo group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DCCDers/).
Good Luck!

[Anonymous]

We use the Seventh Generation diapers and wipes. I like the diapers, and LOVE the wipes. A girlfriend of mine RAVES about Nature Babycare diapers. I've never tried them and i think she said the run small so order larger than you think you need. Diapers.com sells both the 7th Gen and the Nature Babycare.
Good Luck!

[Anonymous]

Has anyone had any concerns about the gel that is used in both GDiapers and 7th generation. Cloth Diapers can be just as bad for the environment especially if you use a cleaning service.

[Anonymous]

No, cloth diapers are not "just as bad." There is one very flawed argument which circulated a while back that everyone seems to quote when they report on how environmentally un-friendly cloth diapers are (I'm not saying YOU are quoting that research, but every article I've ever seen supporting this theory has used that flawed research as 'proof'). The reality is that cloth diapers you wash at home are the very best option, then cloth diapers that you get serviced are next best. Either are still much much better than regular diapers that use awful chemicals to produce, gels that are bad for your baby, and sit in landfills for generations.

[Anonymous]

The study that claimed that washing cloth diapers is worse or as bad as disposables for the environment was sponsored by Proctor & Gamble, makers of Pampers. It's so sad to see this "fact" quoted over and over- their misinformation campaign was successful.

[Anonymous]

Cloth diapers are not an option for everyone. We use 7th Generation and have been happy with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cloth diapers are not an option for everyone. We use 7th Generation and have been happy with them.

I just wanted to say that I'm one of the PP's supporting cloth diaper use -- yet even still, I totally agree with this. Cloth worked for my family for about six months and I really enjoyed using them for this time. After that it just wasn't for me anymore (too much travel, two kids in diapers, lots of babysitters, I was working a lot, etc. etc.) and we switched to regular old Huggies because there was no place nearby to buy the more natural kind. I do think that 7th Generation or Tushies is a step better than Huggies though, so hopefully for the next baby I'll do a combination of cloth and 7th Generation. Or maybe use some diaper service for a while, too. Anyway, I defintely don't judge what choices people make with regards to diapering! Using either cloth or a natural-type diaper, even part time, is better than nothing! Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I use Nature Baby sposies. They are biodegradable. I get them from Diapers.com. Before I found these, I used 7th generation and the Whole Foods 365 brand (which I liked the best). Not for any earth-friendly reason, though, but because ds was sensitive to the gels and chemicals in regular mainstream brands.

[Anonymous]

No dog in this fight, but I was just reading an article on this in Parents Magazine. They said that the UK Gov't also published a study (2004?) that found that cloth diapers were any more environmentally friendly than disposable diapers. It caused a bit of an uproar since the study was done as part of their effort to help promote cloth diapers. Just thought it was interesting. The article was written by a dad who was experimenting with different environmentally friendly diapering techniques.

[Anonymous]

1916 poster here. My post should have read "the UK Gov't also published a study (2004?) that found that cloth diapers were NOT any more environmentally friendly than disposable diapers."

Also, I think this is the link to the study: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/commondata/acrobat/nappies_1072099.pdf

[Anonymous]

We use 7th Generation and they work just great for us. Whole Foods brand didn't work as well, but that's because they just don't fit DD's body as well -- and I think that varies from baby to baby.

The gel mentioned above is SAP (super absorbent polymer) gel. I couldn't find any compelling research against it; I decided to put it low on the list of things to worry about. Tushies and surely other brands too do not have SAP. The general theory is that SAP makes toilet training harder because it means diapers aren't uncomfortable -- so less incentive to want to get out of them!

I am surprised to read PP's assertion that gDiapers are being accused of being environmentally unsound. I have never seen that. Everything I have ever read/heard about them is that they are the best of all worlds -- the poop gets flushed, as it should; minimal trash (or none? not sure, I don't use them); minimal washing needed. Seems like the least resources used up all around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had decided to use 7th Generation Diapers

OP - agree with your decision. To your original question on experiences: we loved 7thGen b/c actually reduced diaper rash on our twins. Woo hoo! And we had tried everything except cloth. (Did I mention twins?) We used Amazon automatic delivery since not much space in house. Bravo to OP for considering eco-friendly. IMHO, doesn't hurt to pay for eco products by choice to build market (and get P&G in on it). Yeah, there's lots of "greenwashing", but as long as you're comfortable with your choice - and it's neverending with parenting - go for it.

Congrats