Disposable diapers can take 500 years to decompose in a landfill, but don’t despair because you can make a difference by choosing environmentally friendly diapers.  Some choices you may want to consider: conventional diapers made of better ingredients, organic diapers, cloth diapers, flushable diapers, or Elimination Communication.

A regular Diaper but better choice:

Why not choose the most popular brands when it comes to diapers?  To avoid ingredients like pesticides, dyes, chlorine, and other harsh ingredients that aren’t good for your baby or the environment.  You may be able to find a diaper carried by your store next to your favorites that doesn’t have some of those harsh ingredients.  For example if you have a Meijer store in your area they carry their store brand (look for store brands when buying anything for a cheaper price tag than the more popular names) Dryable Diapers.  These diapers are a healthier and cheaper choice than the heavily advertised brands.  On the packaging Dryables states they are perfume/dye and latex free and this is a step in a healthier and more economical direction.

Organic Diapers:

These can be more expensive but they are made with out the toxic chemicals that damage the earth when they are made and are better for the child.  They use things like non-bleached wood pulp from sustainable forests.  They still take a long time to decompose in the landfill but are a better choice.  You can save on these diapers by choosing store brands when possible.  Some more organic diapers are: Seventh Generation: www.seventhgeneration.com, Nature Baby Care: http://www.naty.com/us/Products/tabid/125/Default.aspx and Tushies: http://www.tushies.com/.

Flushable Diapers:

According to an Australian company G Diapers (http://www.gdiapers.com/ ) 50 million disposable diapers are thrown into the landfill every year.  G Diapers makes a flushable and compostable diaper on the inside and cute colorful cloth designs on the outside. 

We have used these and I really loved them, especially in the summer when your baby is barely wearing any clothes and can run around with her adorable G Diaper cloth cover showing.  They have a Velcro enclosure on the back along with a cute letter G and they come in Small (8-14 lbs), Medium (13-28 lbs), and Large (26-36 lbs). 

You can begin by purchasing a starter kit with several cloth outer layers in general colors, some of the flushable diaper refill, and a swisher which is used to swish around the inner section once it is in the toilet.  Once you have your cloth outer layers you simply purchase the disposable inner packages.  You can compost the wet diapers and they should decompose within 50-150 days.  To save money you can also use a cloth insert for the inside.  We used a prefold cloth diaper from greenmountaindiapers in our G Diapers.  

Cloth Diapers:

They come in so many styles and different systems for the many different lifestyles of everyone.  Some choices are all in ones and Pocket Diapers.  You can wash them yourself or send them out to a company who will wash them for you.  It’s all up to you.  Some popular cloth choices are:  Bum Genius and Fuzzi Bunz.  Bum Genius (www.bumgenius.com) has an adorable cloth out layer and Velcro enclosures.  Fuzzi Bunz (www.fuzzibunz.com) has a micro fleece layer inside and cute cover and snap enclosures.

Elimination Communication:

Elimination Communication has its roots in Africa and India where people couldn’t just run out and pick up a pack of diapers.  With EC parents pay close attention to infant and toddler’s signals, timing and their intuition.  Check out diaperfreebaby.org for more information. 

To practice EC you simply check your baby’s signals after they eat or sleep.  You can listen for the, “sss,” sound made when babies go to the bathroom.  They suggest placing the baby over the potty and by paying attention to their signals and your intuition your will be able to get them out of diapers much sooner.

By choosing a more environmentally friendly diaper or EC you’re making a healthier decision for your child.  To save money, always keep your eyes out for coupons available online or sales at your store.