Why use cotton or cloth diapers rather than disposable paper diapers you ask? Well, it's not only better for your baby, it is better the environment and it is also much less expensive. When you crunch the numbers and consider even laundry detergent, energy and water usage, money savings is only one benefit of moving away from disposable diapers.

Why is it better for your baby? Let's start with diaper rash. The percentage of American babies who wore cotton diapers in 1955 was 100%. In 1991 it was 10%. The percentage of American babies who wore disposable diapers in 1955 was 0%. In 1991 it was 90%. The percentage of American babies who experienced diaper rash in 1955 was 7.1%. In 1991 it was 78%.

Cloth diapers allow your baby’s skin to breathe and heal more quickly. This helps prevent and treat diaper rash. Disposable diapers are made in good part of super-absorbent chemicals, paper pulp and plastics while cloth diapers are mostly made of natural fabrics.

Dioxin is a chemical found in many paper products and is an unwanted side effect of the bleaching process. Dioxin has been found to cause damage to the immune system, and birth defects when administered to some species of animals even in extremely low doses. Industry officials acknowledge that some disposable diapers
contain traces of Dioxin. Based on the animal tests, the federal environmental agency classifies Dioxin as a “probable human carcinogen.”

Environmentalists have contended that the presence of Dioxin in products that come in contact with sensitive parts of the body, where the chemical might be absorbed, presents a possible serious health threat.

Is it really less expensive to use cloth diapers?

Absolutely, we’ve calculated it every which way and there is no doubt about it, using
cloth diapers is easier on the pocketbook. We have based our figures on an average of 6 disposable diapers being used each day. I couldn’t find research to support this figure but based on logic I assumed this would be a ‘very’ conservative estimate.

Based on my own research done in November, 2003 the cost of a disposable diaper was $0.22 per disposable diaper this was the lowest price I could find with the most expensive being $0.50. For the purposes of this article I will use the least
price of $0.22 per disposable diaper. Let’s not forget about paper wipes. I am assuming that a wipe is being used with each diaper change. So again a very conservative estimate of 6 wipes per day.

Based on the above figures each disposable diaper change costs $0.27. Over a 2.5 year period disposable diapers will cost $11.34 per week for a grand total of $1,474.20.

Total Cost of Using Cloth Diapers for one Child
Cost of Diapers + Laundry = Total Cost of Using Cloth Diapers
Prefold: $260.40 + $345.16 = $605.56 ... savings of $868.64(+)
Fitted: $521.16 + $345.16 = $866.32 ... savings of $607.88(+)

Source: Kim Becker - www.thebabymarketplace.com