Safe Disposable Diaper Guide

Written by Maia, President

My original introduction to this section read something like, “Sure, we all know we should use cloth diapers, but how realistic is that, especially here in New York City where many of us don’t even have washing machines? Thank God for these super biodegradable, non-toxic disposable diapers from Seventh Generation!”

This was back in 2010, and I was using cloth diapers about 25% of the time (and my husband was using them never). After doing the research for this section, I came away realizing that there  really isn’t a truly “green” way to use disposables. So I started putting Felix in non-toxic disposable diapers at bedtime or for long car rides, and stopped using the Seventh Generation disposables completely (see below, under The Sneaky Stuff).

But I had many relapses before potty training was done, and when my second son, Wolf, was born in June of 2013, I didn’t even attempt cloth diapers. My excuse: a busy business and two children. Valid? Not really, but at least I’m using a non-toxic disposable diaper that I feel good about (Bambo Nature).

So I’ll go ahead and tell you why you should all be using cloth diapers–but don’t be surprised if you see my own kid in Bambos.
 
 

My Top Pick for Best Non-Toxic Disposable Diapers
Once I discovered Bambo diapers, I never used anything else. We’ve literally never had a single leak with these guys, which is pretty remarkable in the non-toxic disposable diaper realm.

$79.95 – $99.95Buy Now

What About No Diapers at All?

Forgoing diapers all together, or practicing “elimination communication,” is clearly the greenest option of all. Unfortunately, elimination communication falls into the same category as baby massage and sign language–something I hope to try with my next child!

Here is a story that one reader, Gillian, shared with me:

I learned about EC from a very hippie friend and initially I laughed at her. Then when my son was about 3 weeks old he started giving very obvious cues about when he was going to poo. I would wait for him to finish in his (disposable) diaper, then clean him up. I realized that I could have just as easily put him on the potty. I tried that a few times, but before he could hold his head up it just wasn’t working for us. As soon as he could hold his head up, though, I started putting him on the potty during most diaper changes. I figured, hey – the diaper is off anyway! I was catching some pees and some poos but there wasn’t much rhyme or reason to it. When he started eating solids he got into a good pattern of pooping every evening, so I just put him on the potty. On average I now only have to clean one dirty diaper per week, and my longest stretch without a poopy diaper has been 21 days. (I’m very confident that it would have been a lot longer but we flew back to the west coast from England so the time change and jet lag threw him off his schedule.) I am able to catch some pees, but I’m still not great at it. My son is now 8 months old. I love not cleaning dirty diapers!

Reasons to Switch to Cloth Diapers

• Conventional plastic diapers contain small amounts of dioxin—a byproduct of the bleaching process. While it’s unclear how much dioxin might actually come in contact with your baby, the manufacturing process releases lots of dioxin into the environment, so you should always opt for chlorine-free brands if you use disposables.

• Even if you use the best non-toxic disposable diapers, you’re probably familiar with the little gel clumps that sometimes stick to your baby’s skin when you wait too long to change her. Known as SAP (Super Absorbent Polymer), this gel is allegedly non-toxic, but some people worry about it because it was linked to toxic shock syndrome when it was in tampons.

• A Greenpeace study found the hormone-disrupting TBT (tributyl tin) in many diaper brands, and exposure to disposable diapers has been linked to various other health problems, including asthma.

• While most diapers don’t disclose their ingredients on the package, studies have found them to contain a variety of respiratory irritants, hormone disruptors, carcinogens, and neurotoxins.

• I know we’re are all bored with the landfill stats, but the fact remains that a disposable diaper can take as long as 500 years to decompose.

• In response to the popular misconception that cloth diapers are just as bad for the environment as disposables (a myth propagated by a study funded by Proctor & Gamble), an independent report found that disposable diapers produce more than 50 times the waste of cloth diapers and use twice as much water and triple the energy.

What About Cloth Diapers with Flushable Liners?

I didn’t use them myself, but tons of readers and friends are devoted to the so-called “hybrid diapers” with the flushable liners.

The Good Stuff: Non-Toxic

The Bad Stuff

The Sneaky Stuff

Non-Toxic Incontinence Diapers

Abri-Form Junior is Abena’s line of non-toxic disposable incontinence diapers, designed specifically to fit those between 5 and 15 years old that suffer from uncontrolled urination.