Last month, we shared with you a shocking UK report that claimed disposable diapers were better for the environment than cloth nappies, even though we couldn’t believe it and found the report did not consider all things enviro.
Today, the Grist’s Ask Umbra weighed on the subject with neutrality claiming cloth and disposable are on equal footing when it comes to environmental impact.
I can’t say I agree with Umbra, but I am glad she recommends parents find disposables with recycled, unbleached content. I still think cloth diapers are better for baby and the environment. I don’t think we will ever know which is best, since there are so many factors to consider, but we have to make choices as parents based upon what we believe is best for our children, community, and the environment.
I feel cloth is definitely best… at least it doesn’t sit in the landfill for 1000 years! It will probably be an on going debate for a very long time.
It’s funny that when cloth was the only option (and we weren’t mega-producing disposables and tossing thousands per child into the landfill) we didn’t have the global warming issue. Just a thought.
One thing to consider is that babies are potty trained an average of six months earlier when they use cloth diapers compared to disposables. That is because the baby is more aware of going to the bathroom when things are moister down there.