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Canwest News Service
Bulky cloth diapers complete with safety pins may be fading into history, but their modern cousins are proving to be a product with a future.
Today's reusable diapers come in every shape and colour, with Velcro or snaps, in organic cotton, bamboo or hemp and with absorbent inserts of every variety.
"I honestly have a hard time keeping them in stock," says Jennifer Skulsky, owner of Nature Babies in Calgary and mother of a two-year-old.
Skulsky carries Econappie by Swaddlebees, an all-in-one organic cotton diaper with velour lining and hemp inserts. Strategically placed snaps mean the diapers can be adjusted to fit babies up to 35 pounds and the nappies are durable enough to last through multiple children.
With that in mind, reusable diapers can save you hundreds of dollars – not to mention the savings on natural resources. It's estimated that one child goes through 5,000 to 7,000 diapers; that means Canadians use about five million disposable diapers every day, according to the Association of Safe Alternatives in Childbirth.
In Ecoholic (Vintage, $24.95), author Adria Vasil writes that disposable diapers contain perfumes, potentially asthma-inducing chemicals and plastics such as super-absorbent poly-acrylate, the same material that causes toxic shock syndrome in tampon wearers. That's not to mention the 250,000 trees that go into making the cellulose filling in American diapers each year – and the toxic bleaching process used to make them bright white.
Although reusable diapers come with their own ecofootprints – from the materials used to make them, to the water, detergents and energy required to clean them – "the benefits far outweigh the full life cycle costs, despite what the disposable diaper people might say," writes Vasil.
We asked Skulsky and two other cloth-diapering parents for their tips on joining the reusable renaissance.
Choosing A Diaper
– You might be eager to get off on the right foot, but our experts warn that many newborns are too small to fit into cloth diapers for the first few weeks.
– Don't go out and buy a full set of diapers right away, warns Skulsky. "It's such a trial and error for which ones fit your baby. You can have a really great diaper but if it doesn't fit, it's not going to work." Try a few different brands before investing in a set (18 to 24 diapers for a newborn). "Once you find the right fit, it is smooth sailing," Skulsky says.
– What works for one baby, won't necessarily work for another. All three of the parents we interviewed swore by different brands (Econappie, bumGenius and gDiapers).
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The Cost
– While a good reusable diaper can cost $30, the cost of thousands of disposables easily runs you upward of $1,500. A set of 20 reusables, at $600, starts to look like a bargain – especially when you consider a sturdy set could last for three kids.
– It may seem gross, but you can pick up second-hand diapers at stores such as Sproutz Kidz and even on sites such as Kijiji. And hey, if they're clean, they're clean.
– "Initially, the cost is quite daunting," says Rene Low, father to seven- month-old Finn. "But the beautiful thing about North American culture is baby showers. Most of our diapers came free."
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Washing
– Studies show the primary impact from home-laundered diapers comes from the electricity used for washing and drying them.
– All of the parents we spoke to machine-wash and dry their diapers, which increases their environmental footprints – and their sanity.
– Cheryl Proctor, mother of 17-month-old Kayla, has a tried and true washing strategy: rinse first in cold water, wash in hot. "They come out very clean.
– Be cognizant that some detergents can leave a residue, decreasing wicking, or irritating your baby's bum. Skulsky loves Claudia's Choice detergent, made in Calgary, while Low uses Seventh Generation and Proctor uses Natureclean.
– If you have a bidet, use it, recommends Low. If not, dump the diaper's contents down the toilet.
– People worry about staining, Skulsky says, but if diapers are washed regularly, it's not generally a problem.
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Tricks Of The Trade
– Nature Babies sells cloth-diaper-friendly products, including an all- natural stain remover and an organic diaper spray and cream that won't leave a residue.
Proctor chose gDiapers, but instead of using their disposable inserts, she made her own from diaper fabric.
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Nobody's Perfect
– If the thought of combining cloth diapers with travelling, in-laws or day care terrifies you, you're not alone.
– "We didn't do it from the start because we were just overwhelmed by the idea of having a baby," Proctor says. Now, Kayla wears disposables (President's Choice Green diapers) for day care and bedtime.
– "We've never used disposables in seven months – knock on wood," Low says. But he and his wife do opt for gDiapers, and their disposable inserts, while travelling.
For more information, visit these sites:
naturesbabybasket.com
parentingbynature.com
swaddlebees.com
betterbabybums.com
Calgary Herald
egilchrist@theherald.canwest.com
