I came across the article, “Cloth Diapers vs Disposable Diapers” this morning and it made me wonder if some people think through their arguments, or if they just spit them out like sour milk in order to ellicit a response; I’m thinking the latter of those two. The article isn’t truly about cloth diapers, but rather is an off the cuff attempt to give yet one more way to validate our overconsumption of disposable products.

Hey, I call it the way I see it.

Let’s start with Jeffrey’s question:
“How green (or sanitary) could it be to throw a big ole’ hunk of feces in your washing machine?”

Now that I’ve picked myself up off the floor from laughing, I feel the need to ask where in the world he gets the assumption that parents who launder their cloth diapers at home just toss the whole mess into the wash. There are literally hundreds of websites that detail washing and caring for cloth diapers, and not one of them dismisses the step of FIRST dropping the feces INTO THE TOILET to be properly handled by the city’s sewage treatment systems.

I believe if the question was carried out further, he might even come to the conclusion that, environmentally speaking, cloth diapering parents are doing a FAVOR for our local communities by disposing of feces properly. They put it in the toilet, whereas those that use disposable products, yes, even the Seventh Generation diapers he linked, are likely missing this important step; it isn’t “convenient” after all. Instead, their baby’s feces gets wrapped up in little poop bombs and sealed into a plastic trashbag, which is then tossed into the city’s dump where it isn’t treated at all, but rather, piled. HOW IS THAT an environmentally GREEN alternative?

I cloth diapered my children. The amount of feces that ended up in my washing machine was no more than any parent who used disposable diapers. Their children aren’t immune to blow-outs that get all over clothing, cribsheets, blankets, etc… Their children will get sick, have diarrhea, have an accident when potty training, and so on. Where do these items go? IN THE WASHING MACHINE, same as my children’s cloth diapers. At least I don’t think they grab their washboard and take them out back for a good old fashioned scrub.

Jeffrey (and I’m sorry I’m using his first name, but a last name isn’t provided) goes on to say:
“It’s true, there are many ways to live green that just don’t fit into daily life…and that’s the #1 reason I hear of why people don’t make any attempts to go green.”

I agree there ARE many ways to live green that are next to impossible for some of our living situations. For instance, I have a family of 5…I can’t bike to the grocery store for even a single meal’s needs. I could choose a better vehicle than the Suburban I drive, but biking is a bit out of the question. It is true that I could wash all my Ziploc^© bags, plant my own garden, not bag my yard clippings, move out on some land and focus on sustainable living. THERE ARE many things we CAN do, but aren’t necessarily feasible at any given time. Still, if anyone gets online for more than 5 minutes they will discover a simple Google search turns up any number of cloth diaper sites with very modern, easy-to-use and care for cloth diapers.

There are cloth diapers that put on just like a disposable, absorb better than a disposable, keep baby feeling much more dry than a disposable, don’t grab at baby’s legs or make marks at the waist and thighs like disposables. They are made from cloth and yes, they need to be washed in your washing machine at home - or through a service - but it is one extra load. ONE EXTRA LOAD. How hard is that? Right…not so hard. Certainly not as difficult as planting a garden, a tree, alleviating plastics in your household, only shopping for organic food. And? Guess what? YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DUMP FECES IN YOUR WASHING MACHINE.

Sorry, had to put that back in there…still cracking up.

And really, if you’re gonna write things as fact, do some research. Jeffrey writes:
“…the main ingredient for reusable cloth diapers is cotton. Cotton is an EXTREMELY water intensive crop and is quite often treated with large amounts of pesticides and chemicals, and often being bleached to make them nice and white.”

Yes, Jeffrey, you’re right. Cotton is a water intensive crop. Absolutely.

But let’s take a look into the paper pulping process - y’know, the paper pulp found in every single disposable diaper?

• A tree is cut down. Okay, let’s be honest, thousands upon hundreds of thousands of trees are cut down. This alleviates what we need to BREATHE.
• Next, the tree is de-barked and chipped; this takes tons of fuel.
• Then, either a chemical or mechanical pulping process begins.
• Chemical pulping is the most common form of pulping in North America. Now, if you’ve ever lived near a mill that does this (and I have - in Augusta, GA where Procter & Gamble has a plant), it is impossible to not notice the smell of rotten eggs in the air. That would be the hydrogen sulfide and the mercaptan family of sulfides that are a by-product of the process.
• A second negative impact of Chemical Pulping is the build up of cellulose fiber beds that cause environmental problems in and around wastewater pipes. This is due to the discharge of pulping wastewater.
• Now, you could ditch the chemical pulping altogether and go with Mechanical Pulping, but that is a much more energy-intensive process with a lower quality product. This kind of paper pulp is not used in disposable diapers at present. Plus, it comes out much darker, requiring significantly more BLEACH.
• I noticed that Jeffrey mentioned bleach up there. I found that part of his argument rather significant since paper pulping has its own bleaching step. In fact, it is one of the most important steps. Using chlorine gas and chlorine dioxide, paper mills use bleach to remove the lignin and increase the purity of the fibers. Now, I should mention that Mechanical Pulping uses a friendlier peroxide bleaching approach, but also remember that this type of pulp is not used in disposable diapers. So see, the bleach argument is null and void, since most cloth diaper manufacturers use a peroxide based bleach to bleach their cotton fibers.
• Finally, the paper pulp has to go through a paper machine which takes the wood fibers, mixes them with water and minerals in a mixture that is more than 99% water.

Perhaps that argument isn’t so strong after all?
Exactly.

In all fairness, let me see if I can answer the Question that Jeffrey puts on the table towards the end of his argument:
“I, for one, wonder about the level of sanitation that results from putting soiled cloth diapers into the wash. Would the toxins from that waste remain and contaminate future loads of clothing?”

If the Center for Disease Control says it is sanitary, would you believe it? In their Guidelines for Laundry in Healthcare Facilities, the CDC says:

“Hot water provides an effective means of destroying microorganisms, and a temperature of at least 71 C (160 F) for a minimum of 25 minutes is commonly recommended for hot-water washing.”

Good enough?

So, though I admit the fumes that emerge from a baby’s bum or cloth diapers can burn one’s nose hairs, I wouldn’t describe them as toxic OR worry about soiled diapers in the washing machine.

As far as that “new type of diaper to hit the market that consist of a colorful outer diaper that houses a disposable, flushable, biodegradable insert that can be changed.” Jeffrey mentions, well…it isn’t as flushable as one would think.

In a relatively recent study (November 2007), the city of Vancouver says, “Not so fast.”

“The city, in a study conducted last year and finalized recently, put gDiapers to the test. After searching in vain for relevant research, the city’s engineering department reported that it dyed gDiapers’ disposable liner pads and tracked the product through Vancouver’s sewer system. The city concluded that the liners run the risk of entangling pumps. In addition, engineers found that the product could hinder the system’s ability to kill pathogens with ultraviolet light before­ the effluent is discharged into the Columbia River.”

“Consumers should bag the used product and place it in their garbage container for disposal,” the study concluded.

So, let’s recap.

Cloth diapers aren’t toxic to washing machines, don’t require chlorine bleach, are not as water intensive than the manufacturing of disposable diapers, and certainly do not need to be inconvenient.

What was the argument again?