If you’re considering a cloth diaper service, chances are you’ve already done some research.  Here is some information that we’ve compiled.  Links that document the sources and provide more details should you want them are listed at the very bottom of this page.

Cost**:

Purchasing and self laundering your own diapers (in your own washer) is the least expensive diapering option available. 

Barring that, you can choose between disposables, gDiapers or a cloth diaper service.

Disposables, via a mix of NYC retailers, average $22/week.

gDiaper Flushables average $23/week (not including the cost of Little g Pants @ $18.99 each)

Diaperkind is $35/week. (not including the cost of Covers; typically $13 each retail.)

However, one large variable to consider is this:  cloth-diapered children tend to potty train a year earlier than those diapered in disposables.  In fact, we’re finding that a lot of our Diaperkind babies are potty training as early as 20 months!  With that in mind, here is some interesting math:

2.5 years x $20/week of disposables @ $2,860 + 1.5 more years in pull-ups x $12/week @ $936 = $3,796

2.5 years x $23/week of gDiapers @ $2,990 + 1.5 more years in pull-ups x $12/week @ $936 = $3,926

2 years x $35/week of Diaperkind = $3,640

So, from birth to potty training, Diaperkind is comparable to the cost of gDiapers or disposables. 

Plus every penny is supporting sustainable practices and a local business.

Materials:

1. • A cloth diaper is made of multiple layers of either cotton, hemp or bamboo.  It is fully sustainable and biodegradable. Then, depending on which Covers you choose will determine their level of biodegradability.  In addition, our prefolds are Unbleached and Organic; using even less harsh chemicals both in processing and in cultivating and growing than regular cotton diapers.
   

1. •A gDiaper “Little g Pant”, Liner and Flushable is made of entirely biodegradable materials.  It uses SAPs for absorbency.
   

1. • A disposable diaper is made of a combination of
   

2. • treated paper pulp
   

3. • polyethylene (and other plastics)
   

4. • glues
   

5. • dyes
   

6. • synthetic perfumes
   

7. • sodium polyacrylate (SAPs) the super absorbent polymer gel that absorbs urine
   

8. • it can also contain traces of Dioxin and TBT
   

Landfills / Waste:

1. • Cloth Diapers are made of sustainable materials and can be reused indefinitely.  Starting as a diaper and ending as a cleaning rag.  And, in the very end, it is fully biodegradable and can even be composted.  Then, depending on which Covers you choose would determine their level of biodegradability.
   

1. •a gDiaper is made of sustainable, biodegradable materials.   The Little g Pant can be reused indefinitely.  The Liner has a life of approximately 6 months.  And the Flushable is used one time and then flushed.  All in all, it is fully biodegradable.
   

1. • Disposables are considered single-use diapers, 90% of which end up in landfills. 
   

2. • It is unknown how long a disposable takes to decompose, but it is estimated between 250 and 500 years.
   

3. • The U.S. disposes of over 49 million single-use diapers per day.
   

4. • The U.K. disposes of over 8 million single-use diapers per day.
   

5. • Australia disposes of over 2 million single-use diapers per day.
   

Environmental Footprint:

Currently, the only independent study on the matter was funded by the Women’s Environmental Network of Great Britain.  This study estimates that the “Environmental Footprints” for three of the four options are as follows:

The footprints are calculated for one baby for one year by measuring the energy and raw materials needed to make, transport, use and dispose of the different types of diapers.  And include the impact of washing.

(An NFL football field, not including end zones, is approximately 4,300 m2.)

1. •gDiapers were not included in this study; however gDiapers is the first consumer packaged good to receive Cradle to Cradle Gold certification for environmentally-intelligent designed products.
   

Absorbency:

Okay, it’s true.  Diapers that use SAPs are more absorbent than cloth diapers.  In my personal observations, probably twice as much so.  Which means, as a cloth diapering parent with a newborn baby, you’ll want to change your baby every two-ish hours.  (as opposed to every 3 or 4 hours with disposables)

Convenience:

Disposables are perceived as the most convenient.

1. •You go to the store, buy them, use them and throw them away.  Right?
   

2. •Well, what gets lost in the small print is:
   

3. •Disposing of human fecal matter in the public landfill system is prohibited.
   

4. •So, it is required that parents discard baby’s poop into the toilet. 
   

5. •(Which no one really does.  Which causes quite a lot of environmental problems in our landfills.)
   

6. •What also gets lost is:  you still (generally) have to go to the store to buy them.
   

7. •This may not seem like a big deal now.  But when you’re at home with a new baby, getting everyone bundled up and loaded into the car or stroller because you’re out of diapers (and coordinating the trip between nap and feeding times) is actually incredibly inconvenient. 
   

8. •Another inconvenient, and painful, result of disposables:  diaper rash.
   

9. • Baby’s urine gets sucked away by those SAPs.  And because baby doesn’t seem wet, parents tend to change baby as little as every 4 hours.  But baby is wet.  And they’re left swaddled in their own ammonia.  Which results in diaper rash.  Which is not at all convenient.
   

10. •Lastly - potty training.  Because, with SAPs, even the toddler can’t tell that he’s wet, he’s not as readily inspired     to potty train.  Usually training 6 months to a year later than if he were in cloth.
    

Kid you not, using a Cloth Diaper Service is neck and neck with using disposables.

1. •There’s no need to go to the store for diapers.  They just show up at your door every week.
   

2. •Instead of tossing your diaper in the trash, you toss it into a hamper bag.
   

3. •You still need to plunk any solids into the toilet first.
   

4. •Then, with a Prefold/Cover system, you have 2 steps that differ from disposables:
   

5. •You have to fold your diaper and place it into a Cover.
   

6. •And you have to give your Covers a swish in the sink as needed.  Or toss them in with your regular laundry.
   

gDiapers’ convenience-level falls between using a Cloth Diaper Service and Home-Laundering Cloth.

1. •You have to keep stocked up on Flushables. 
   

2. •In Year 1, at 160 Flushables per case and 70 Flushables per week, you’ll need a new case approximately every 2.3 weeks.
   

3. •gDiapers have flushable liners that get plunked in the toilet.  And you use a Swisher to give it a few swirls before flushing.
   

4. •You’ll have to insert a Flushable into your Little g Pant with every change.  And insert a new Liner as needed - just the same as using a Cloth Prefold/Cover system.
   

5. •And you have to wash the Little g Pants as needed.  (you’ll soil 1 or 2 per day)
   

6. •The gDiaper Liner uses SAPs; the same super absorbent gel used in disposables - making the gDiaper more absorbent with a trimmer fit than a cloth diaper.  However, it also entices parents to not change their baby when truly wet.
   

Home-Laundering cloth diapers are perceived as a lot of work. 

1. •I did this.  With twins.  I have to tell you - if you have easy access to a washer and dryer, it’s just not that big of a deal.
   

2. •You have to purchase your arsenal.  You can make do with about $350 bucks worth of Prefolds, Covers and misc sundries.  (you could buy second hand and spend less or you could buy fancier and spend much, much more)
   

3. •Unlike the old days, you no longer need to mess with pins or pull-on plastic pants.
   

4. •You do have to wash everything.  Which I found way more convenient than having to go out and buy disposables.  And actually kind of enjoyed it.
   

Footnotes and Sources

*

Women’s Environment Network Briefing

National Association of Diaper Services Page

Real Diaper Association Page

gDiapers’ Great Debate page

The recent history of diaper services

**

Disposable cost was calculated using a weighted average of Sizes N - 5, plus pull-ups.

1. •Costco carries brand names for $42 per lg. case; averaging .20/diaper, and Kirkland brand for $39.50 per case; averaging .19 per diaper x 56 = $10.64 per week + cost of membership and driving/subway = $12/week.
   

1. •Diapers.com carries brand names for $42.99 per med. case; averaging .28/diaper x 56 = $16/week
   

1. •CVS and Rite-Aid carries brand names for $11.99 - $12.49 per pack; averaging .38/diaper x 56 = $22/week.
   

1. •Neergaard in Park Slope and Avignone on 6th Ave @ W. 4th carries brand names for $13.99 - $14.49 per pack; averaging .41/diaper x 56 = $23.50/week
   

•gDiaper cost is the average of .33/Flushable for small and .41/Flushable for large.

True, if you’re a Costco purist, Diaperkind is more expensive.  But, in our sampling of typical diaper purchasing habits, we found that most folks tend to purchase from local grocery stores or corner pharmacies, which averages $22+/week.