Cloth Diapers: Are They Worth It?

New parents make many decisions concerning their child's health and general well-being. Among the most important choices they face is how to diaper their baby. There are two options to choose from, cloth or disposable diapers, and each has advantages and disadvantages. As convenient as throw-away diapers are to have on hand, they may not be the best choice. If you've never used cloth diapers before but heard they're ideal for many families, continue reading to discover precisely why they're worth all the trouble of laundering them regularly.

Overall Savings

When it comes to saving money, although it may not happen immediately, over time parents can save a substantial amount of money when using cloth diapers compared to disposable ones. According to economist Nicole Kaeding, disposable diapers cost approximately twenty-five to thirty cents each, while cloth diapers cost about seven cents per diaper. If parents use roughly seven diapers per day on one child, it will save them about one dollar and fifty cents to two dollars a day using cloth diapers.

Over the lifetime of using cloth diapers, parents could see savings anywhere from 1000 dollars to 1200 dollars. Furthermore, these savings only increase with additional children considering cloth diapers are reusable. However, when comparing the two choices, parents need to take into account the extra money they will be spending on detergent, water, and electricity for washing their cloth diapers. As previously stated, over the course of a child's lifetime, cloth diapers can save parents quite a pretty penny when entering the second year of using them and with the addition of more children.

Environmentally Friendly

Cloth diapers are entirely environmentally friendly because they're not made from plastic, which puts many chemicals into the air we breathe. Since these items are not disposable, they can be used many times before deteriorating. They won't wind up in the landfill in abundance the way disposable diapers do. The United States Environmental Protection Agency notes Americans use twenty billion disposable diapers yearly, which contributes to a remarkable three and a half million tons of trash created from households with babies alone. Since the average baby goes through thousands of diapers every year, it's understandable why cloth diaper usage is on the rise.

Parents who want to ensure their children have a planet to grow up on often go the extra mile to make conscientious purchasing decisions that do more good and less harm. Eco-conscious parents have their choice of sustainable fabrics to put their children in, too. Bamboo is breathable, comfortable, and environmentally friendly, and the same can be said about organic cotton, which is commonly used to create soft and comfortable cloth baby diapers. Most environmentally friendly cloth diaper companies carry a wide range of materials and patterns for parents to choose from, so their babies are outfitted conscientiously at all times.