Many parents are taking a hard look at the many health, developmental, environmental and economic advantages cloth diapering has over disposable diapers.

1. Healthier Babies

Cotton is soft and breathable on baby's skin.
Its natural absorbency is the polar opposite of the combination of paper pulp, plastics and "super absorbent" chemicals in disposables.

No harmful chemicals near baby like Dioxin and SAP
Children who are diapered in cloth generally potty train 6-12 months sooner than those in disposables. Potty training is important for a child’s confidence, sense of self and independence.

In 1955, virtually every baby in the U.S. was diapered using cloth diapers and only 7% of babies had diaper rash. By 1991, approximately 90% of babies in the U.S. were diapered using disposables and 78% of babies had diaper rash.

Disposables retain body heat, which causes babies to have a higher temperature around their genitals, aggravating rashes and potentially harming male fertility.
Infertility Attributed to Diaper Use (ABC News Report)
Disposable Diapers Linked to Infertility and Testicular Cancer

Parents who have used disposables testify to the beads of clear gel, used to wick moisture, that are occasionally found on their child’s genitals. These chemicals can cause severe irritation, allergic reactions and/or sensitivity.

Asthma rates are on a sharp incline in the U.S. Harsh perfumes and chemical emissions have long been known to induce asthma-like symptoms in children and adults.
Now, researchers have found that disposable diapers might be a trigger for asthma. A study published in the October, 1999 issue of the Archives of Environmental Health found that laboratory mice exposed to various brands of disposable diapers suffered increased eye, nose, and throat irritation, including bronchoconstriction similar to that of an asthma attack.

An additional serious concern is the risk that dioxin, a by-product of the paper-bleaching process, may exist in single-use diapers. Dioxin in various forms has been shown to cause cancer, birth defects, liver damage, and skin diseases.

The chemical dryness of a disposable has produced a great lowering of standards in baby care. Parents are led to believe that as long as the diaper feels dry, it's all right to leave on; it isn't. Dry does not mean clean, and the urine absorbed by the chemicals in disposable diapers stays right next to a baby's skin. (As do feces, which are a tremendous breeding ground for noxious bacteria.) Chemicals are not a substitute for the attention babies need, and "set-and-forget" diapering is not healthy.

2. Healthier Environment

Disposables are the diaper of choice for about 90% of Americans, according to the Personal Absorbent Products Council.
This convenience comes at a cost to the Earth, beginning with the plastic, wood pulp, chlorine, energy and water used in manufacturing. It’s the manufacturing that uses the most resources and these diapers will still be in the landfills at least 500 years from now!

In the United States alone single-use items consume nearly 100,000 tons of plastic and 800,000 tons of tree pulp.

An average child will use between 8,000 -10,000 disposable diapers before being potty trained.

We will pay an average of $350 million annually to deal with their disposal and, to top it off, these diapers will still be in the landfill 500 years from now.

Americans throw away 570 diapers per second. That's 49 million diapers per day.

Letting Diaper DuDee launder your cloth diapers uses less than ½ the energy and 75% less water than home laundering, due to more efficient equipment and load size.

The production of disposable diapers has a harmful effect on the environment due to the use of water, chemicals, plastics and other materials. It requires 5 times more energy, uses 8 times more non-renewable raw materials, consumes 90 times more renewable resources, and produces 2.3 times more waste water and 60 times more solid waste than reusable diapers

The feces that collects in landfills creates a public health hazard and can contaminate groundwater.

Contrary to popular belief, no disposable diaper -- not even biodegradable ones -- can break down in a landfill.

Not only do disposable diapers require more water in manufacturing, but also more trees, energy and fuel.

3. Healthy Mind

Many parents who use disposables think nothing of spending $15 or $20 on diapers when they shop for groceries, which quickly gets hidden in the total grocery bill. Taking the real cost along with the cost of additional diapering because of delayed potty training, it becomes immediately apparent that cloth diapering is far less costly than single-use diapers.

Cloth diapering has progressed since the folding and pinning of the 1980's and before.
Modern cloth diapering now gives you the option of using diaper covers, which secure the diaper in place with snap or Velcro fasteners: making pinning and extensive folding an ancient art form.

As mentioned earlier, the average babies wearing cloth diapers are toilet trained at 24-30 months, while the average age for babies wearing single-use diapers is 30-42 months. This not only has obvious economic implications, but it is highly significant for your baby's development.

With a service, all you do with a used diaper is put it in the pail provided for your use.