Monday, August 3, 2009

Green with envy: Smartipants re-usable diapers.


I ordered my Smartipants diapers on Friday afternoon and they arrived Monday morning. That means they were shipped within an hour of when I ordered them. Super fast service! I called the company before ordering and I spoke with the inventor/owner, Jessica. She was very helpful and answered all my questions. She also said if I ever bought other brands of diapers that I could always call her with questions on those as well. This brand of diapers seems so great because they are one-size-fits-all so you never have to buy other sizes, they snap instead of Velcro and the best part is the inserts come out in the wash so you don't have to remove them (or touch poop .... gross!) like other brands. It's as close to the ease of a disposable as you can get. But these are SO SO SO SO soft! It's amazing how soft they are.

Even though "they" say you will need 36 diapers, I ordered 21. Devon only goes through 5-6 diapers a day so I figure I can go a few days (even with just 21 diapers) before I have to wash them. Should I decide I need more I can easily buy more. I wanted to see if I could get a whole supply of diapers for $300. (That is a lot of money up front, but you could buy one at a time and slowly build your supply. They are available in 3-packs or singles). I also got 10 extra inserts in case he needs more absorption and I need to double up (through the night), but those extras are included in the $300. From what I've seen these are among the highest quality and the most affordable re-usable diapers available. I saw some that were $25 a piece! The Smartipants were $14 and it will only take me 5 months to recoup my costs. I ordered all white which may be boring when you can order them in lots of different colors, but I wanted to keep it simple. You don't even really see them anyway.

I wouldn't say I was against re-usable diapers, but I was pretty skeptical. It seemed like such a hassle, very expensive and lots of extra work. Disposable are so easy, right? I'm not some "green freak" so why would I even care if I was throwing out diapers? 80% of people who use diapers use disposable .... disposables can't be THAT bad. I also wasn't sure of the environmental implications living here in the desert with water being a scarce resource and the diapers constantly needing to be washed. However, after doing some research, they seem like a very responsible choice. Good facts about re-usable diapers to come .... but for now you can read up on the sad side of disposables.

"Babies go through approximately 5,000 diapers and as many as 11,000 depending on when they are potty trained.

The degradation of the plastics used in many disposable diapers can take half a millennium. Moreover, the chlorinated byproducts of such degradation can leech into soils and create hazards to public water supplies.

Dioxin is a by-product of the paper-bleaching process used in manufacturing disposable diapers. Dioxin in various forms has been shown to cause cancer, birth defects, liver damage, skin diseases, and genetic damage. It is listed by the EPA as the most toxic of cancer related chemicals.

Studies have been done to show that the chemical emissions from disposable diapers can cause respiratory problems in children.

Over 20 billion disposable diapers are sent to landfills each year. This is enough diapers to cover a football field 3 miles deep."


It is never to late to make a difference.

3 comments:

Kate said...

yay for cloth diapers, can't wait to see his little bum transformed into a big puffy one!!!!

Elizabeth Larson said...

LOL at your sisters comment! Anyhow, good for you and your efforts to go green. I try in little ways, but with three kids...I definetly slack more than I should!! I LOVE the bags you made for grocery shopping and was thinking about having you make me a couple and I would send you money for shipping, etc. Let me think about it (I might want to attempt to make one myself because I love sewing). I will let you know...Great ideas!!

big red 26 said...

Saving the planet one poopy diaper at a time way to go.