My family has made a commitment to be environmentally aware and conscientious about how our actions impact the environment.  In making this commitment, we decided after the birth of our son, to help minimize our carbon footprint one diaper at a time.

As new parents, we quickly learned that there are different diaper options.  The most common diaper is a classic disposable.  Disposable diapers are quick and easy, cost effective, cute, and are available in many sizes.  After a bit of research, I found out that disposable diapers may take up to 500 years to decompose.  Additionally, they are filled with various chemicals and could cause of diaper rash and other negative reactions when those chemicals come into contact with the baby’s sensitive skin.  The disposable diaper industry uses 250,000 trees and billions of gallons of oil per year to produce their product.

The cloth diaper is another option.  They are reusable and cost effective (about $200 per child/year without diaper service vs. disposable diapers which average $1,500 per child/year).  The major downside of the cloth method is that it is literally a mess.  There are diaper services, but they are quite pricey.

So what is a clean, earth-friendly, and cost effective alternative?   We discovered the hybrid. Hybrid diapers are inexpensive, Green, and not messy.  Hybrid diapers have a cloth outer frame (re-useable) that holds the inner absorbent inset. There are different kinds of inserts.  Cloth inserts are reusable and perfect when baby is home and at nighttime.  These inserts are highly absorptive, have minimal leakage, and don’t contain harsh chemicals.  Biodegradable inserts are a convenient choice if you are on the go since they can be thrown away or flushed down the toilet.  They are cost effective too.  Our family spends $750/year on hybrid diapers for our son. Though it may seem like a small contribution to helping the Earth, our family believes it’s a significant one.

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