Did you know it takes 500 years for one disposable diaper to decompose in our landfills? By using cloth diapers you can make a significant impact on our environment.
How Cloth Diapers Reduce Your Baby's Carbon Footprint
- Prevent thousands of unnecessary diapers from entering our landfills.
- Eliminate the need for repeat manufacturing processes to make, package and transport diapers to stores over and over again.
- Limit the amount of raw materials and natural resources, such as crude oil and trees needed to make your baby's diapers.
- Reduce your household's waste, using less energy for trash trucks to haul away your baby's diapers each week.
- Use a renewable resource (water) to wash and reuse your diapers - just as you wash and reuse your clothes and dishes.
If you want to make your cloth diapering experience even greener, consider these suggestions:
Hang Dry Diapers
You’ll save electricity and shave off a few bucks on your electric bill.
Use Cold Rinse Cycles
Use cold water to rinse your diapers and hot water only for washing.
Use Less Detergent
It only takes a ¼ of a cup of detergent to launder cloth diapers.
Order Locally
Order from a cloth diaper store closest to your home so the diapers don’t have to travel cross-country. Combine your order with other area moms to get bulk discounts, too!
Have a 2-3 Day Supply on Hand
More diapers on hand means you’ll need to do less laundry. Order a 2-3 day supply of cloth diapers so you can wash them every other day. Environmental Bonus: They’ll last longer too since you’re using/washing them less!
Buy Energy Efficient Appliances
Front-loading machines use 65% less energy and a third less water. Key things to look for in a good energy efficient washing machine include:
- Heating System: Buy a washer that heats only the water it uses rather than heating the entire household water tank.
- Less Water: Some machines only require as little as 14 gallons a cycle and do the same job as rival machines
- Fast Spin Cycle: The faster the cycle (at least 900 rotations/minute) the better water will be extracted from the laundry and less time the clothes need to dry.