One question that you would always end up asking yourself regarding diapers for your baby is whether to choose cloth diapers or disposable diapers. In terms of convenience & comfort, you would choose disposables over cloth. Because it’s easy to wear, and remove, with no complicated snap system, no washing methods, and no maintenance. Just use and throw. This might seem magical on the top but as we go in-depth, some factors become the very driving force for your baby’s hygiene and health problems. At First Look, Cloth Diapering might seem like a difficult & tough process for you that needs a lot of patience and prior knowledge it. But it takes only a little while to learn about what exactly they are and how to use them.
What are Cloth Diapers?
Washable and reusable diapers contain three main components. Main Absorbent material made of chemical-free and organic layers of Cloth. Stay-dry inner layer made of Microfleece so that it provides a dry feel for the baby. Ultra Soft waterproof outer layer made of PUL/TPU to prevent leaks onto surfaces. Another component is the snap button with which you can size and adjust the diaper according to your baby’s weight. There are different types of reusable diapers with each type varying in performance and features. You can choose a diaper that best suits your requirements. This in itself is a great advantage of reusable diapers.
Here are the Five Reasons you must know. Click to jump to the particular section.
No Harmful Chemicals:
A Recent Study has found that harmful chemicals like Phthalates are present in baby diapers. It disrupts the Endocrine system and causes ailments like diabetes. Hypertension, obesity & reproductive disorders are also other ailments that the toxins cause. Toxics Link found in a study that 2.36 ppm – 302.25 ppm phthalates are present in diapers. DEHP – a toxic phthalate, which is restricted and banned in children's products is found between 2.36 ppm to 264.94 ppm. These toxic chemicals are released from the diapers and your baby’s skin absorbs these toxins through dermal absorption. A Baby uses around 6000 of these diapers from birth till potty training, whereas a cloth diaper contains nothing more than layers of cloth made of Organic Cotton for absorption. It is GOTS Certified as 100% organic. It does not require pesticides and fertilizers to grow.
Waste Management:
Increased use of Disposable diapers is leading to poor waste management. Every year 27.4 billion disposable diapers are ditched into the landfills along with solid waste. This leads to contamination of groundwater that gradually contaminates drinking water resources. Moreover, the toxins and dioxins that are released from these diapers pose serious threats to our food chain. With every baby using around 2000 diapers a year, the diaper waste ends up in landfills. These landfills stay for 500 more years. As for Cloth diapers, you would use an *average of 20-30 diapers for 3 years. With each usage, the chances that a cloth diaper degrades faster are relatively high. You can properly dispose of the Solid waste from a cloth diaper into the toilet and you can wash and reuse the diaper again. Disposables are sometimes flushed down into the toilet which causes fatbergs in the sewer system.
Cost:
Almost everybody seeking advice on which diaper to choose for their baby hears that Cloth Diapering is expensive. No. Not at all. Let’s say that a baby requires an average of 8 diapers per day. A Disposable diaper costs ₹15-25. For 365 days, your baby uses 2920 diapers. It would cost ₹58400 per year. If you use Cloth Diapers, let’s say that you might need 8 diapers a day and 16-20 diapers for alternate days. Just Bumm Cloth diaper costs ₹729-870. For 20 diapers, it would cost only ₹17400, and additional accessories of ₹3000. It would be only this much for 3 years! It seems like it costs big for the 1st time but you can always save more with our combo packs.
Resources:
Every Year, 2 lakh trees are cut to make disposable diapers. 3.4 billion gallons of fuel oil is used every year and 9 gallons of water is used per diaper. As for a cloth diaper, people always conclude that laundering after use consumes more energy and water which would surpass the energy consumed to produce a disposable diaper. Women’s Environmental Network (U.K) found in 1991 through the Landmark Consultancy, that disposables use 20 times more raw materials. Moreover, disposables consume 3 times more energy and twice as much water. And also produces 60 times more waste compared to cloth diapers.
The Waste water from washing a cloth diaper is relatively benign and you can reuse it. (Not for drinking.) The Wastewater from producing disposable diapers contains solvents, dioxins, heavy metals, and unreacted polymers. It makes the waste harmful which becomes useless to be reused again. The Textile Exchange has found through a study that Organic Cotton is 46% less harmful to global warming and 70% less acidification of land and water. Usage of Groundwater and Surface water decreases by 88%. Energy consumption decreases by 62% and the chances for soil erosion are 26% less. In addition, unlike Bamboo which is a Rayon/Polyester fabric as ruled out by FTC, or Modal which is semi-synthetic, Organic Cotton does not require wood pulp or a complicated process to produce.
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Rash:
Babies are inevitably prone to diaper rashes. The most common reasons for diaper rashes are not changing your baby’s diapers frequently, and too much moisture in the skin. Rashes occur as a reaction to chemicals from disposable diapers or wet wipes. Sensitive skin is also one other cause. There is an increase in diaper rashes in babies by 50% with the usage of disposable diapers. The chances of getting diaper rashes with cloth diapers are relatively less. Because diaper changes occur frequently. These diapers have no chemical components and hence there is more breathability & airflow. The Natural fibers are much softer than the plastic used in the disposable diaper.
There are many other reasons to choose Cloth nappies. Such as comfort, sustainability, multi-purpose, easy potty training, and not to mention cuteness. So at Just Bumm, with every step we take the utmost care to provide our dear purple parents with chemical-free & Organic Products!
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